Tbilisi goes to the polls under the shadow of torture
Tbilisi (AsiaNews / Agencies) - This morning the polls
opened for the parliamentary elections in Georgia. The
party of President Mikhail Saakashvili is being challenged by an opposition led
by multi-millionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who accused him of not being
democratic, after the release of a video showing torture and sexual abuse of
prisoners.
For
his part, Saakashvili accuses his opponent of wanting to sell the country to Russia, against which Georgia fought a brief war in 2008.
Georgia, a country of 4.5 million
inhabitants, declared independence from the Soviet yoke in 1991. Since
2003 has been governed by Saakashvili and a government close to the West,
supported by Europe and the United
States. Under
his rule, the country has taken steps towards improvement (roads, electricity,
dealings), but unemployment remains a huge problems (over 16%) as well as
poverty (about 25%, but was 51% in past years).
Saakashvili
also had to fight against a corrupt system, which in 10 years has resulted in
the prison population jumping from 6 thousand to 24 thousand.
A
few weeks before the vote, the government's reputation was undermined in a
video on the treatment of prisoners, sodomized and beaten with sticks. The
government has condemned the episodes, but the opposition - along with the
student population- accuse Saakashvili of being a dictator. Many
people, however, support the president's party and believe that the video was
produced specifically for the elections.
The
vote for a new parliament is important because Georgia is set to change the
constitution, giving more power to parliament and the prime minister and not
the president. Saakashvili
concludes his second term next year. Under
the current constitution he cannot run for president again, but many people
think that because of a possible victory of his party in the elections, he will
continue to influence the country's politics.
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16/06/2018 09:00
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