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Bitter feud dominates Georgia election
25 October 2013 Last updated at 18:12 GMT
By Rayhan Demytrie BBC News, Tbilisi
Bidzina Ivanishvili: Georgia's "first European-style election"
There might be 23 candidates in Sunday's presidential election in
Georgia but in recent months two men already in power have been
dominating the country's politics. And both are about to step down.
They face each other from their palaces on opposite sides of the River
Kura, which flows through the capital Tbilisi.
One is the glass-domed structure of the country's President Mikheil
Saakashvili, the second is an ultra-modern steel and glass mansion -
the residence of the country's billionaire Prime Minister Bidzina
Ivanishvili.
Mr Ivanishvili took office last year after his Georgian Dream
coalition defeated President Saakashvili's allies in a parliamentary
election.
But there is very little face-to-face interaction between the two
leaders, and their public statements are full of bitterness towards
each other.
Rights 'abuses'
In the West, President Saakashvili is known as a man who brought
democracy to Georgia, which has been plagued by political violence
since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.
But Mr Ivanishvili refers to the outgoing president as a "liar" and a
"dictator".
The election campaign has been dominated by rivalry between the
outgoing president and outgoing prime minister
"He said one thing to the outside world, and did totally different
things inside the country," Mr Ivanishvilli told the BBC from his
residence.
"Under Saakashvili, abuses of people's rights inside Georgia were
widespread. Anyone could have been targeted and sent to jail. Prisons
were overcrowded. Properties were illegally confiscated," he said.
Addressing a group of students on Thursday, Mr Saakashvili said he and
the prime minister had nothing in common.
"I and Prime Minister Ivanishvili are from different planets, or to
put it more correctly I am from this planet, from this country... We
represent two different Georgias."
Since coming to power in the bloodless 2003 "Rose Revolution" Mr
Saakashvili has implemented reforms which helped root out corruption.
He cut bureaucracy and improved public services in the Caucasus
republic, where poverty remains widespread.
The World Bank in a report in 2012 suggested Georgia's experience in
fighting corruption could be exemplary for other nations facing
similar problems.
At a recent UN General Assembly meeting, Mr Saakashvili said he was
proud of Georgia's accomplishments during his 10 years in office.
'Elite' corruption
But the country's prime minister has dismissed these achievements.
President Saakashvili sees himself as the man who eliminated corruption
"Corruption was eradicated among the police, his government was proud
of this for years. But later, they used the police force to commit
violence against people. So we can't say it was an achievement," says
Mr Ivanishvili.
"The biggest achievement, I would say, was the improvement of tax
collection. Money started flowing into the state budget. But the
budget was then abused - so this also cannot be counted as an
achievement."
His allegations of "elite" corruption have led to a number of arrests
and investigations of former officials from Mr Saakashvili's
administration.
Mr Ivanishvili, who credits his own government with establishing a
transparent judicial system, does not exclude the possibility that Mr
Saakashvili could also find himself under investigation once his
presidential immunity is lifted.
"The process of restoration of justice is continuing, therefore such a
probability cannot be ruled out," he said.
Behind the scenes
In August, he announced that he would step down before the end of the year.
Prime Minister Ivanishvili says he has brought money flowing into the budget
"When I entered politics I said that I would stay for two or three
years, accomplish my set goals and leave. Well, it took me less than
three years. I put the country on the right path and no-one can
reverse this process."
Following Sunday's vote, constitutional amendments introduced in 2010
will come into effect that significantly reduce presidential powers.
Georgia in effect will become a parliamentary democracy.
But even after Mr Ivanishvili steps down there are concerns he could
still run the country from behind the scenes, especially if his chosen
presidential candidate Giorgi Margvelashvili - ahead in the opinion
polls - wins.
Mr Ivanishvili has not yet named a successor as prime minister.
The presidential candidate of Mr Saakashvili's United National
Movement (UNM), Davit Bakradze, is a former parliament speaker who
accuses the ruling coalition of failing to deliver on its promises.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24672090
25 October 2013 Last updated at 18:12 GMT
By Rayhan Demytrie BBC News, Tbilisi
Bidzina Ivanishvili: Georgia's "first European-style election"
There might be 23 candidates in Sunday's presidential election in
Georgia but in recent months two men already in power have been
dominating the country's politics. And both are about to step down.
They face each other from their palaces on opposite sides of the River
Kura, which flows through the capital Tbilisi.
One is the glass-domed structure of the country's President Mikheil
Saakashvili, the second is an ultra-modern steel and glass mansion -
the residence of the country's billionaire Prime Minister Bidzina
Ivanishvili.
Mr Ivanishvili took office last year after his Georgian Dream
coalition defeated President Saakashvili's allies in a parliamentary
election.
But there is very little face-to-face interaction between the two
leaders, and their public statements are full of bitterness towards
each other.
Rights 'abuses'
In the West, President Saakashvili is known as a man who brought
democracy to Georgia, which has been plagued by political violence
since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.
But Mr Ivanishvili refers to the outgoing president as a "liar" and a
"dictator".
The election campaign has been dominated by rivalry between the
outgoing president and outgoing prime minister
"He said one thing to the outside world, and did totally different
things inside the country," Mr Ivanishvilli told the BBC from his
residence.
"Under Saakashvili, abuses of people's rights inside Georgia were
widespread. Anyone could have been targeted and sent to jail. Prisons
were overcrowded. Properties were illegally confiscated," he said.
Addressing a group of students on Thursday, Mr Saakashvili said he and
the prime minister had nothing in common.
"I and Prime Minister Ivanishvili are from different planets, or to
put it more correctly I am from this planet, from this country... We
represent two different Georgias."
Since coming to power in the bloodless 2003 "Rose Revolution" Mr
Saakashvili has implemented reforms which helped root out corruption.
He cut bureaucracy and improved public services in the Caucasus
republic, where poverty remains widespread.
The World Bank in a report in 2012 suggested Georgia's experience in
fighting corruption could be exemplary for other nations facing
similar problems.
At a recent UN General Assembly meeting, Mr Saakashvili said he was
proud of Georgia's accomplishments during his 10 years in office.
'Elite' corruption
But the country's prime minister has dismissed these achievements.
President Saakashvili sees himself as the man who eliminated corruption
"Corruption was eradicated among the police, his government was proud
of this for years. But later, they used the police force to commit
violence against people. So we can't say it was an achievement," says
Mr Ivanishvili.
"The biggest achievement, I would say, was the improvement of tax
collection. Money started flowing into the state budget. But the
budget was then abused - so this also cannot be counted as an
achievement."
His allegations of "elite" corruption have led to a number of arrests
and investigations of former officials from Mr Saakashvili's
administration.
Mr Ivanishvili, who credits his own government with establishing a
transparent judicial system, does not exclude the possibility that Mr
Saakashvili could also find himself under investigation once his
presidential immunity is lifted.
"The process of restoration of justice is continuing, therefore such a
probability cannot be ruled out," he said.
Behind the scenes
In August, he announced that he would step down before the end of the year.
Prime Minister Ivanishvili says he has brought money flowing into the budget
"When I entered politics I said that I would stay for two or three
years, accomplish my set goals and leave. Well, it took me less than
three years. I put the country on the right path and no-one can
reverse this process."
Following Sunday's vote, constitutional amendments introduced in 2010
will come into effect that significantly reduce presidential powers.
Georgia in effect will become a parliamentary democracy.
But even after Mr Ivanishvili steps down there are concerns he could
still run the country from behind the scenes, especially if his chosen
presidential candidate Giorgi Margvelashvili - ahead in the opinion
polls - wins.
Mr Ivanishvili has not yet named a successor as prime minister.
The presidential candidate of Mr Saakashvili's United National
Movement (UNM), Davit Bakradze, is a former parliament speaker who
accuses the ruling coalition of failing to deliver on its promises.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24672090