MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party, winner of last weekend’s parliamentary elections, and the former prime minister’s Gakharia For Georgia party may soon sit down to talk about how parliament will be run, a Russian expert told TASS.
According to Nikolay Silayev, an expert of the Valdai Discussion Club and senior researcher at the Center for Caucasus and Regional Security Problems of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Georgian Dream party has alienated itself from the country’s other political parties. In fact, its campaign slogan was "there is Georgian Dream and then there is everyone else," he noted, adding that Georgia needs a third party to emerge and Gakharia For Georgia could fit the bill.
"The sustainability of Georgian Dream’s course depends on whether they can broaden their support base. I think that in the coming days we will see intense negotiations, especially with Gakharia. They will discuss what roles they will play in parliament," the expert added.
Georgia held its parliamentary election on Saturday, with 18 parties involved, including the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party, which has been in power for 12 years. According to the latest data from the country’s Central Electoral Commission, the ruling party secured 52.98% of the vote with 97.48% of ballots counted, allowing the Georgian Dream to form a government independently. Additionally, the Coalition for Change (11.2%), the Unity - National Movement (9.83%), the Strong Georgia coalition (9.02%), and the Gakharia For Georgia party (8.22%) have also won seats in parliament, while other parties failed to surpass the five-percent election threshold.
Georgia’s opposition refuses to recognize the election results. President Salome Zourabichvili on Sunday called on people to gather for a protest rally in Tbilisi on October 28.