Issue of street protests threatens to split Georgian opposition

Grigol Vashadze, a Georgian presidential candidate, and Mikhail Saakashvili, the leader of the "United National Movement" (UNM) Party, have called on their supporters to come to a mass rally on December 2. The Republican Party warned the allies that it would not support street protest.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia summed up the voting results: Salome Zurabishvili gained 59.52% of the votes, while Grigol Vashadze gained 40.48%. Grigol Vashadze and the alliance "Strength in Unity", which put forward his alliance, refused to recognize the victory of Salome Zurabishvili and demanded to hold early parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, the Grigol Vashadze's office refused to support the call of UNM leader Mikhail Saakashvili for mass protests.

The party will not support the actions of the opposition if they go beyond the law, announced Khatuna Samnidze, the leader of the Republican Party. According to her, the general public does not yet have "readiness and energy" for street protests.

Oppositionists announced a major protest action to be held in Tbilisi on December 2. Earlier, political consultant Vitaly Shklyarov has noted that the voting at election in Georgia has a pronounced protest nature, and attempts by the ruling party to steal the victory of the opposition will turn into rallies of "unprecedented scale."

According to Grigol Vashadze, the voting in Georgia was a "farce" with massive pressure on voters.

In Georgia, "there is no critical mass" of people interested in a revolution, believes sociologist Valerian Gorgiladze.

According to him, in Georgia, there are no necessary prerequisites for a revolution, since the state is developing, and there is a stable economic growth.

Valerian Gorgiladze also believes that at present, Georgia has no leader who could lead a national protest.