2 Oct 2012

Billionaire defeats Saakashvili in Georgia’s election

President Saakashvili concedes defeat to an opposition coalition led by Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s richest man, in the countrys parliamentary elections – ending nine years in power.

Bedzina Ivanishvili (Reuters)

Mr Saakashvili said today that he would respect the voters’ will, despite saying that he believes the views of the Georgian Dream opposition, led by billionaire businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili, are “fundamentally unacceptable”.

“According to the preliminary results of the parliamentary elections, it is evident that the Georgian Dream coalition has secured a majority,” he said on Georgian television.

“This means this parliamentary majority has to form the next government, and I as the president, within the framework of the constitution, will assist the process for parliament to begin work, to elect a speaker, and to form a new government.”

“You know very well that for us, at least for me, the views of this coalition were fundamentally unacceptable and still remain so. There are deep differences between us, and we think their views are completely wrong. But democracy works through the majority of Georgians making a decision, and we respect this very much.”

Mikheil Saakashvili (Reuters)

Mr Ivanishvili said Georgian Dream appeared to have won the election by a margin of 63 per cent to 27 per cent. The Georgian Dream coalition comprises Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia party, the Republican Party of Georgia, Free Democrats, National Forum, the Conservative Party, and Industry Saves Georgia.

It has come to power vowing to reverse authoritarian trends in Georgian politics under Mr Saakashvili (pictured, right). According to Human Rights Watch, Georgia under Mr Saakashvili has had an “uneven” record, marred by police violence, suppression of the media and labour rights violations.

Employment, education and health have been key focuses of the coalition’s campaign. Ivanishvili has also promised to “empower the village”, giving more power to Georgia’s agricultural community.

Mr Saakashvili’s credibility has also suffered after video footage revealed last month from inside Georgia’s jails showed guards abusing and torturing inmates, leading to protests in the capital.

View Mr Ivanishvili’s campaign video below.

Who is Invanishvili?

Mr Ivanishvili is the richest Georgian in the world with an estimated worth of $6.4bn according to Forbes. His largest company is Rossiysky Kredit Bank, a Russian investment bank. He also has interests in property and mining and owns a chain of Russian drugstores.

He collects Impressionist art and his most expensive painting is Dar Maar with Cat by Pablo Picasso, which he bought in 2006 for $95m.

Mr Saakashvili’s announcement that he would allow the changeover of power is a welcome sign of peaceful democracy at work in the former Soviet country. Mr Saakashvili said his party will now form the opposition.