Elections appear to be a three-horse race

The upcoming presidential elections in Georgia are extremely significant, as since regaining independence 22 years ago, this will be the first time Georgia will have a democratically elected president completing his term. It should be stressed that the two previous presidents, Zviad Gamsakhuredia and Eduard Shevardnadze, were forced to quit their positions before the expiration of their legal terms of service. As such, the current Georgian leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili, is particularly concerned with this issue. He wants to establish law and order in Georgian politics to elaborate the fair rules of game.

What is the situation two months prior to Election Day? Currently, there are more than 30 possible candidates for the presidency. Of course not all of them will be qualified for the elections. Moreover, there are only 3 candidates who actually have a chance to win the race.

Of course, among the three candidates, one has an advantage compared to the rest. The number one candidate is a representative of the Georgian Dream Coalition and is a personal favorite of the prime minister – his former minister of education and science, philosopher and professor, Giorgi Margevlashvili.

While nominating Margvelashvili, it was clear that new administration wanted to hold these elections without selecting “the chief of the tribe.”

No more charismatic personalities to be worshiped by the people. The choice should be a pragmatic one based on commonsense and not on emotions. The fact that Margvelashvili was nominated by the Prime Minister gives him certain privileges. However, this is not a guarantee for his victory in the first round, and many analysts predict that a second round will become necessary.

Ivanishvili’s current statements that he might quit the coalition and resign as prime minister could create a very negative role regarding the chances of Margevlashvili to win the presidential race on the first try.

The next candidate picked to make some waves in the election is leader of the non- parliament opposition party Democratic Movement-United Georgia, Nino Burjanadze. Compared with Margvelashvili, she is the more experienced politician with good communication and persuasion skills.

There is one more thing however that does not play(or may play?) in her favor – she is aggressive with regard to the United National Movement and promises to punish all “criminal individuals of the Rose administration.”

Whereas Margvelahsvili discusses reconciliation and cohabitation, the electorate is unfortunately keen on " bloodshed and revenge".

There is also an additional problem that Burjanadze faces, she is considered to be pro-Russian.(or maybe this will be an advantage?).

The third candidate with slight chances of winning is former chair of the parliament, from the UNM, Davit Bakradze. The analysts think that he will be the third and will not qualify to take part in the second round. As for the rest of the presidential candidates, presumably, nobody will be able to compete with Margvelashvili and Burjanadze.