Georgia yesterday changed its constitution to suit one man, but, apparently, against his will.
The amendment allows Georgian-born European Union citizens, who have lived in Georgia for at least five years (read billionaire opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili), to take part as candidates in elections (but only for three years). The government, which stripped Ivanishvili of his Georgian citizenship immediately after he announced plans to challenge President Mikheil Saakashvili, says the amendment should put an end to accusations that it's trying unfairly to keep its most deep-pocketed foe out of this October's parliamentary election.
But, with the amendment now just a presidential signature away from becoming law, Ivanishvili says he does not need any such constitutional sops. He urged President Saakashvili not to put his signature on the amendment. “The Constitution is really being changed by one man and for one man,” Ivanishvili wrote in an open letter to the president. “But this man is not me. It is you.”
The billionaire said that if the government does not scrap the constitutional change, he will not participate in the upcoming election. Your move, Misha.
Giorgi Lomsadze is a journalist based in Tbilisi, and author of Tamada Tales.
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