Opposition figures launched their presidential bids on November 27, while ruling party officials said they would not begin campaigning in earnest until early December.

The United National Council, a coalition of nine opposition parties, gathered at the Mtatsminda Pantheon of Writers and Public Figures to once again present Levan Gachechiladze as their joint candidate.

In a speech marking the official launch of his campaign, Gachechiladze underlined that if successful, he would be “accountable only before the people.”

“We vow that from this day forth no one in Georgia will be forgiven for engaging in violence against their own people,” he said.

On November 7, the government cracked down on protestors outside parliament, provoking statements of concern from the international community. The administration claims a Russian-sponsored coup attempt was being carried out by opposition forces, while the opposition accuse the government of unnecessary heavy-handedness.

Gachechiladze also railed against “those who think that they can buy the Georgian people’s votes,” in a thinly-veiled reference to recent government social assistance initiatives which have included handing out one-off utilities vouchers to poor Georgians.

Tina Khidasheli, a leader of the Republicans and a coalition member, said that Gachechiladze welcomed any chance to take part in a televised debate with Saakashvili, according to the news agency NewsGeorgia.

However, representatives of the ruling United National Movement party say the official presidential campaign of incumbent Mikheil Saakashvili will not begin until early December.

Saakashvili stepped down as president over the weekend to clear the way for parliament to officially set January 5 as the election date.

“Very soon, probably by December 3, we will open our campaign headquarters, but we don’t want to say before then who will be our campaign manager,” said Davit Kirkitadze, the party’s secretary general.

He confirmed that the party has begun collecting the requisite 50 000 signatures of support, which must be submitted to the Central Elections Commission (CEC) by December 6 for Saakashvili and other potential contenders to be registered as official candidates.

Allies of business tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili, who is hoping to run as an independent candidate, said he would not return to Georgia until he is granted candidate status.

Patarkatsishvili is currently wanted for questioning for his role in the alleged coup attempt on November 7.

Giorgi Zhvania, who presented Patarkatsishvili’s application for presidential candidature to the CEC on Monday, claimed the businessman would be immune from prosecution if his candidature is approved.

“After Patarkatsishvili is officially registered as a presidential candidate, he will have immunity, so we foresee no problem after that,” Zhvania, brother of late prime minister Zurab Zhvania, said.

Early polling shows little public support for a Patarkatsishvili candidacy, while the television network he founded, Imedi TV, remains off air after a controversial raid on November 7.

On November 26, a Russian-language TV station aired an interview with Patarkatsishvili in which he stated he was keen to participate in the upcoming elections.

However, he appeared to come under increasing government pressure on Tuesday, when the National Bank of Georgia appointed a “temporary administrator” to Standard Bank, owned by the investment group responsible for handling Patarkatsishvili’s investment portfolio.

Labor Party representative Nestan Kirtadze called on the government at a press conference the same day to allow Patarkatsishvili to return to Georgia to begin his presidential campaign.

“We have already consulted international organizations about this and we are awaiting their response,” Kirtadze said.

She reiterated that Labor leader Shalva Natelashvili would stand aside in the presidential race if another opposition candidate provides better competition against Saakashvili, according to the Rustavi 2 television channel.

Meanwhile, Davit Gamkrelidze of the New Rights kicked off his campaign by presenting his political platform to doctors at a major Tbilisi hospital, before receiving questions from youth activists in his campaign headquarters.