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Georgia's opposition looks to West for support in staging protest rallies — expert

According to Vaso Kapanadze, there may be a risk of a color revolution in Georgia, but the authorities look ready for it

TBILISI, October 29. /TASS/. The Georgian opposition wants to stage more rallies against the results of the parliamentary elections, but it can't do that on its own, so it will seek help from the West, which is more than happy to oblige, international affairs expert Vaso Kapanadze has told TASS.

"It is obvious that the opposition's scarce resources will not last long, but it will be supported by the West, by certain organizations - both financially and ideologically. Polarization will grow and interference in Georgia's internal affairs will soar," he said.

According to the political scientist, there may be a risk of a color revolution in Georgia, but the authorities look ready for it.

"Theoretically, such a possibility does exist. For example, if the EU suspends the visa-free regime for Georgian citizens, the situation will turn more complicated. I think the authorities are on guard for this type of challenge," Kapanadze noted.

The expert has called on the opposition, if it really has evidence of systemic violations in the election process, to present it to the public at large.

"There may have been casual violations, just as in other elections. Georgia is not some kind of outlier here, but I do not think that some systemic violations occurred. If the opposition is aware of such facts, they should make them public," he concluded.

Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on October 26, employing the widespread use of electronic ballot boxes for the first time. According to the Central Election Commission, the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party got 54.08% of the vote. As the winner it has the right to form the government on its own. Four opposition parties cleared the five-percent threshold: Coalition for Change had 10.92%, Unity-National Movement - 10.12%, Strong Georgia - 8.78%, and Gakharia for Georgia - 7.76%. All opposition parties that have entered parliament refuse to recognize the results of the elections. At the same time, the Unity-National Movement and Coalition for Change say they will boycott parliament sessions.

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