Conservative Party chair calls for unified political center to reduce wasted votes

Zviad Dzidziguri, Chairman of the Conservative Party, on Wednesday suggested that opposition political parties could form a unified political center to minimize wasted votes and achieve the necessary results for changing the government.

“Earlier, the polarization was between Misha [former President Mikheil Saakashvili] or Bidzina [the founder and the honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party], and now it has shifted to Europe or Russia. This shift was orchestrated by Bidzina. If the opposition unites under a single list, it will be easier for the government to revert to the Bidzina-Misha polarization scheme, and I don’t see the need to facilitate that,” Dzidziguri stated.

He emphasized that if [Saakashvili’s] United National Movement could rally enough parties to prevent votes below 5 percent from being wasted, it was both logical and natural. However, he believed the current moment called for the formation of a single political center – “neither aligned with Bidzina nor Misha” – where fewer votes would be lost, thus making it possible to achieve governmental change.