Mdinaradze: Early elections are ruled out, opposition's demands are unrealistic
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Monday, December 7
Mamuka Mdinaradze, one of the leaders of the Georgian Dream ruling party announced that the demand of opposition calling on snap elections will not be met.
“Snap elections are ruled out. They know it very well, and they knew it a month ago as well. We can't fail our voters - millions of people who decided to vote for the Georgian Dream,” said Mdinaradze in his interview with TV Imedi.
As for the opposition, their main demand is snap elections. As the representatives of the opposition are saying, snap elections represent the cornerstone of their plan.
The plan was sent to the Georgian Dream on December 4 with the help of the international partners of the country. According to the statement, if the demands are not met, the opposition will continue its boycott and will not join the Parliament.
However, specific details of the ongoing negotiations between the opposition and ruling party, with the help and involvement of the US and EU representatives in Georgia, are still not disclosed. The opposition, on the other hand, has many times noted that the formation of a new election administration and the release of political prisoners are among their demands.
Several representatives of the opposition parties in the country have noted that it is acceptable to hold a plebiscite in the context of calling for early elections.
Mdinaradze confirmed that the Georgian Dream has already read the plan provided by the opposition, where several problems are discussed. Mdinaradze said that there are many topics which 'can be considered.'
In terms of snap elections, Mdinaradze also rules out plebiscite, as he believes that “the opposition won't like the outcome of the plebiscite and will say to do it all over again.”
It is still unknown when the third round of talks between the government and the opposition, mediated by international partners, will take place. According to the opposition, they also expect a written response from the Georgian Dream regarding their plan.
On December 4, after a meeting of the opposition with the ambassadors, it was said that international partners had requested two days to continue the process.
The parliamentary election in Georgia was held on October 31. Over the last month, representatives of the opposition have been calling for snap elections.
