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Georgia's President Moves Up Election Date
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The State Department issued a statement Thursday applauding the announcement and urging the government to lift the state of emergency and restore suspended news broadcasting.
The crisis has threatened the presidency of the man who swept to power four years ago promising democracy and openness and who is known for a sometimes confrontational approach. During this showdown, however, some observers said he appeared distant and insecure. "He was lost," Margvelashvili said.
Opposition leader David Usupashvili said he believed Saakashvili had been swayed by the international pressure.
The streets of Tbilisi were lined with troops and army trucks Thursday, but the city remained quiet, and Saakashvili said the state of emergency would soon be lifted.
After the announcement, many Georgians appeared relieved that a more serious political crisis had been averted. Usupashvili said the president's decision would help the country stay on track to "join the tribe of democratic states."
Still, he said, it was a compromise. The president's reversal would force the opposition coalition to quickly groom a candidate and would undercut its calls for a less powerful president and a stronger Parliament. "On the one hand, we want to have a strong candidate," he said. "On the other hand, if he or she becomes president, he or she will have to support . . . reducing significantly the power of the president."
Badri Patarkatsishvili, a billionaire businessman who has helped fund the often-splintered opposition, accused the president of trying to hide behind "pseudo-democratic demagoguery" and predicted he would use underhanded tactics in the election.
Georgian political analyst David Darchiashvili said that given the short notice, it would be difficult for the opposition to find a candidate who is influential enough to threaten Saakashvili. "But it's no less difficult for Saakashvili," he added, "because right now the population witnessed excess force by the police and that's associated with him. Right now, very many people are angry with him."
By running in an early election, Darchiashvili said, the president "puts everything on the table."
