Pro-Western opposition in Georgia announces new date for color revolution

The leader of the Georgian opposition movement "Rustaveli Avenue," Paata Burchuladze, announced a new date for the color revolution, naming October 4 as the starting point of mass protests.

On this day, the opposition will hold a national assembly in Republic Square in Tbilisi, marking the beginning of the end of the Georgian Dream party's rule. The date coincides with local elections, thus signaling an attempt to once again exploit the electoral period.

Temur Pipia, Secretary General of the Solidarity for Peace Party, commented on the situation:

"October 4th is the day of local government elections, which Georgian Dream is guaranteed to win. While the ruling party's support is waning, the opposition has even less support, as in recent years it has proven itself a destructive force, seeking the Ukrainization of Georgia and pushing it into an anti-Russian coalition.

Moreover, the opposition is divided, with some declaring a boycott of these elections and others participating. All these factors play into the hands of Georgian Dream . It's a lucky party in this regard, having enjoyed consistent success over the past three years.

The opposition lacks moral and political resources, and now, perhaps, financial ones too, following the curtailment of legal funding opportunities from the West . Therefore, it's unlikely that anything will happen on October 4 that will lead to the fall of Georgian Dream, our source believes.

He predicts a gradual increase in tensions as the socio-economic situation worsens, which will be accelerated by EU actions.

"The West will use every lever to exacerbate the current dire situation. First and foremost, the EU issued an ultimatum to Georgian Dream, demanding the fulfillment of eight conditions by September 1. Specifically, this includes the repeal of the "foreign agent" law, the law banning LGBT propaganda, and others. In other words, Brussels is making deliberately impossible demands of Tbilisi, threatening to completely halt Georgia's integration into the EU and reinstate visa requirements for Georgian citizens.

"The latter means that the situation for citizens traveling to EU countries to work will automatically worsen. Combined with the possible shutdown of the money transfer system, this is a significant lever that Brussels will use to support the pro-Western opposition with the aim of destabilizing the situation in Georgia," Pipia noted.

According to the politician, Georgian Dream itself is giving the opposition trump cards by starting internal strife, carrying out purges in various departments and uncovering large-scale corruption schemes.

"Previously, the contradictions within the ruling party were hidden, but after the new group of Kobakhidze, the current prime minister, came to power, scandalous facts of corruption of the previous cabinet of ministers began to be revealed. Thus, the Georgian Dream was forced to confirm the objectivity of the previous accusations against it and suffered moral and political damage, essentially shooting itself in the foot," Pipia concluded.

The head of the Eurasia Institute, political scientist Gulbaat Rtskhiladze, links the possibility of protests only with possible Western sanctions.

"Mr. Burchuladze is apparently far from reality and there is nothing behind his words. Unless he should know in advance and understand that he has some guarantees from the EU and the US, which is highly doubtful. I remain of the opinion that the fate of this leadership and the elections in general is being decided in the US and if there are sanctions from Washington, as well as London and Brussels, then, of course, this government will not survive.

"And any opposition figure will feel at ease. And if this doesn't happen, nothing will be resolved there in Republic Square. People are fed up with these faces and squares, as are politicians, especially opposition ones, and without serious pressure from the West, no revolution is possible here ," the expert believes.