How Georgian authorities are preparing for forceful clashes in the upcoming elections
The ruling party of Georgia, Georgian Dream, has set its sights on winning the parliamentary elections at any cost, disregarding Western criticism.
The first evidence of this course is the summonning Georgian volunteers who fought in Ukraine for interrogations. They are accused of participating in the preparation of an assassination attempt on Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honourary chairman of Georgian Dream and the de facto most influential person in the country.
Read more about how the ruling party of Georgia plans to win the parliamentary elections and build relations with the West in the article by Yurii Panchenko, a European Pravda editor – Tbilisi goes all-in: Georgian authorities bet on Trump and prepare for conflicts.
"We need a convincing victory, securing a constitutional majority to finally stop agents, radicalism, polarisation and liberal fascism in Georgia," said Bidzina Ivanishvili on 17 July at the opening of a new Georgian Dream office.
In essence, Ivanishvili announced the key theses with which Georgian Dream will go to the elections, along with the strategy for future relations with the West.
The key point is that Donald Trump's victory should end the war and simultaneously reduce pressure on Georgia.
"If the Republicans win the presidential elections in the USA, the war may end even in January. Therefore, the main task for Georgia is to hold out for this short period. Once the war in Ukraine is over, all misunderstandings with the USA and Europe will immediately become history. And then Georgia will become a completely different subject of interest for global political players," said the Georgian authorities' key stance.
Thus, the course is set for victory at any cost, and Tbilisi will not pay heed to Western criticism. After all, relations will have to be rebuilt from scratch with the new US president (the Georgian authorities hope it will be Donald Trump).
What practical consequences will this strategy have?
In recent days, it has become known that the Georgian State Security Service (SSG) has summoned at least ten volunteers who fought in Ukraine for interrogation. They were summoned in connection with a case concerning an attempted coup.
In September 2023, the SSG announced the uncovering of an attempted coup by "certain groups of individuals" operating both in Georgia and abroad. This included the Deputy Head of Ukrainian Military Intelligence Georgiy Lordkipanidze, former Saakashvili bodyguard Mikhail Baturin, and the commander of the Georgian Legion Mamuka Mamulashvili.
Back then, these accusations were seen more as part of the current Georgian government's PR campaign.
However, now that this case has sharply gained relevance, it looks entirely different.
"This is a Kremlin order being carried out by Bidzina Ivanishvili. The government is just the executor. When Russia started criminal cases against our fighters, it was a signal to us that the Georgian government might potentially also start investigations and criminal prosecutions," said Mamuka Mamulashvili, the Georgian Legion commander.
Although it is currently difficult to imagine the extradition of Georgian citizens to Russia, such a possibility could likely prevent Georgian volunteers from returning home in the coming months, i.e., until the elections are over.
But there is another argument suggesting that the Georgian authorities are very serious about this.
According to Mikheil Ramishvili, the lawyer for Georgian volunteer Gela Kakhabrishvili, the SSG of Georgia is investigating a possible terrorist act against Bidzina Ivanishvili.
The Georgian authorities rarely involve their leader in political confrontations. It is evident that such a step was only possible with Ivanishvili’s consent, indicating that the Georgian authorities are very serious about this case.