Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili speaks at a news conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, Friday, Nov. 16, 2007. President Saakashvili dismissed Prime Minister Zurab Nogaideli and his government Friday and nominated an influential banker to the premiership in a move seen as a populist gesture to win votes ahead of a hastily called presidential election.
Photo: AP
|
 |
Saakashvili to Step Down Fri
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili intends to step down before this weekend. He apparently harbors no doubts that he will be reelected for the second tenure January 5, but the polls show the opposite.
The sources say Saakashvili will deliver the resignation speech Friday, during the festivities staged to mark the fourth year of the Rose Revolution. In addition to this anniversary, Georgia celebrates the Saint George Day on November 23.
Meanwhile, they are constructing a grand rostrum and a stage for a concert in Rustaveli Avenue, near the parliament, so that Saakasvhili could address the nation from the place where he proclaimed Shevardnadze’s retirement four years ago. Tomorrow, however, the president will have to announce his own resignation to win back the authority January 5.
But election campaign of Saakashvili is at full blast already. Yesterday, for instance, he didn’t miss the chance to emphasize confidence in the future victory.
On November 21, Mikhail Saakashvili, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Turkey's President Abdullah Gul attended the ceremony marking the start of construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway that would connect Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey but bypass Russia. Saakashvili vowed that, as the president re-elected for the second term, he would be the first passenger of the express train running from Tbilisi to Istanbul.
As to the opposition, they are going to resume mass rallies November 25. According to the recent polls, Levan Gachechiladze, wine producer and presidential candidate from the opposition coalition, is 2 percent ahead of Saakashvili.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 22, 2007
|
|
|
