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.
