Ivanishvili Vows Protests If Vote Rigged, Asaval-Dasavli Says
Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili said he’ll organize demonstrations if President Mikheil Saakashvili’s government rigs this year’s parliamentary election, Asaval-Dasavli reported.
“If they go ahead and falsify as much as 20 percent to 30 percent of the votes, we won’t behave like angels, of course,” the Tbilisi-based newspaper quoted Ivanishvili as saying. “We’ll stand in the streets and defend our votes. We’ll use every means allowed by law.”
Ivanishvili, whose wealth was estimated at $5.5 billion by Forbes magazine in March, began a public movement aimed at challenging Saakashvili’s hold on power. He is awaiting a decision by the Justice Ministry on a request to restore his Georgian citizenship, which was revoked on Oct. 11.
The parliamentary contest is scheduled for October, followed by a presidential election next year. Ivanishvili said he seeks a peaceful transfer of power.
Manana Manjgaladze, a spokeswoman for Saakashvili, said she hadn’t read the article and declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.
To contact the reporter on this story: Helena Bedwell in Tbilisi at hbedwell@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page