Parties ponder snap parliamentary elections

After the April 19 rally initiated by the United National Movement (UNM), certain political forces in the country have started repeating the demand of holding snap parliamentary elections in the country.

According to this opinion, the current political configuration in the parliament does not reflect the real picture of the political sympathies in the country. Several political parties outside the parliament are most active in this regard, considering that a two-pole political scene in the country is artificial and the UNM is not representing the real opposition in the parliament.

Most active in this regard remains the Labor Party and their leader Shalva Natelashvili. The Labor Party has had parliamentary representation for some time, but little by little their influence has diminished. However, the need for the formation of a new opposition representative of civil society with a cooperative political disposition exists in the country.

Currently both the president and the prime minister can organize a situation that can lead to snap parliamentary elections. However, before that, it should be pondered as to who will benefit from such elections should they be initiated.

As current surveys suggest, the UNM has lost support of the majority of people and if the elections are held now, it is extremely likely that they will not collect enough supporters to overcome the 5% barrier and qualify for parliamentary representation.

Analysts suggest that the votes of those who have supported the UNM during the October 1 parliamentary elections do not necessarily associate with the Georgian Dream coalition. These voters create a solid reserve of smaller political parties that have a chance to qualify for the Parliament.

There are a number of political figures outside the parliament who have a chance to join the legislative body.

Nino Burjanadze, Kakha Kukava, and others can become more active within the parliament if snap elections will be held. That said, the UNM is categorically against holding snap elections because their leaders are probably objectively analyzing the situation.

The Georgian Dream coalition feels quite comfortable in the current situation. They are confident that they will win three more majoritarian seats in the forthcoming by-elections. They are also sure that after the failure of the UNM's April 19 rally, more members of the oppositional MPs will abandon the team and will move either into the ruling coalition or become independent.

The second stage of development for Georgian politics is the presidential election. Much depends on this election. Nobody doubts that the candidate from the Georgian Dream will be the winner of the race and become the next president. A lot of things will change then, including the whole system of human resources of the ordinary, Supreme and Constitutional Courts, as well as the National Security Council and some other bodies, and the possibility of discharging the parliament and calling snap-elections may become real afterwards.