An analysis – By Lawal Sale
As one of the prominent former Soviet Union Republic, Georgia, in the Caucasus is at crossroad.
If care is not taken, politicians in Europe are on the verge of turning Georgia into another Ukraine for the sole purpose of integrating it into the EU.
Georgia conducted a parliamentary elections on October 26 where the Georgian Dream Party won the people’s vote electing Irakli Kobakhidze as new PM.
Struggle for influence has become a norm for former Soviet Union and Eastern block between EU and Russia where the EU always accuse Russia of inteferring in most elections in the former Eastern blok.
The pro-EU Georgian politicians without any evidence, accused the ruling Georgian Dream Party for rigging the October elections in collusion with Russia (Russia has since denied involvement).
The new parliament/government in its earliest proceedings, decreed that Georgia’s integration with the EU should wait until 2028.
As a result of that decree, an organised protest and spearheaded by the pro-EU opposition ceremonial president, Salome Zourabichvili erupted with protesters calling for the ‘repeat’ of the parliamentary elections earlier held.
Despite all these, the new parliament guided by the 2017 rules that gave it an electoral vote college powers, elected a new president from within the ruling Georgian Dream Party, ending the pro-EU tenure of Zourabichbili.
The new elected president, Mikheil Kavelashvili is expected to be sworn in on December 29, the day the tenure of Zourabichvili is ending, but Zourabichvili is saying that she is going nowhere.
With all these developments and thousands of protesters still picketing the parliament in freezing cold winter in Tbilisi, is Georgia heading to the path of Ukraine? We are watching.
-(- Lawal Sale is an Abuja-based Global Affairs Analyst.)
