Giga Bokeria, Secretary of National Security Council, called on Bidzina Ivanishvili-led Georgian Dream coalition to respect the existing constitutional framework and take responsibility of being in power under the existing procedures.

Ivanishvili, whose six-party coalition won Monday’s parliamentary election and who eyes on prime ministerial post, said on October 2 that President Saakashvili’s resignation would be the best way for averting potential crisis which might be caused by, what he called, “sort of a dual power” situation.

“I want to remind to Mr. Ivanishvili and everyone that the presidential elections are planned for 2013 and we hope that those elections will be held as democratically and freely, as the recent parliamentary elections,” Bokeria said in an interview with Rustavi 2 television station late on October 2.

“What we are seeing is a behavior – I hope this is simply because of euphoria caused by the victory – as if a revolution is taking place instead of victory in the democratic elections,” he said.
 
“I now some do not like the constitutional model and question its provisions, I can understand it, but this new Parliament, where they [the Georgian Dream] won the majority of seats, was elected under this constitution… So, let them wait for the next elections,” he said. 

“The Georgian society has established a standard that in Georgia only a political force having majority, obtained through democratic process, can be in power – the Georgian Dream is such force right now, so let them take this responsibility under the prescribed procedures and not make problems to the country.”

“If they [Georgian Dream] plan to carry out some experiments and threaten the constitutional system, it is a very dangerous game,” Bokeria said.

“Now, this team should act as the team coming to power should act, which will soon become responsible for the most important issues for the country,” he said.

Bokeria also said that “it is not about personalities; it is about Georgian democracy and the will of the people… Respecting these procedures means respecting the Georgian people.”

He said that he could not understand what Ivanishvili meant when saying that the current constitutional arrangement might lead to the crisis.

“Maybe someone told him that the President was not explicit [in his statement]; but it was said very explicitly, that… now process of forming of [government] by the new parliamentary majority will start,” Bokeria said. “If someone wants to stir a crisis, this will be a very dangerous choice.”

He said that although under the existing constitution it’s up to the President to decide whom he would nominate as new Prime Minister, after the Georgian Dream’s election victory with large margin the President would nominate a candidate offered by Ivanishvili-led six-party coalition.

Hypothetically a scenario is possible under the present constitution in which the President nominates a prime ministerial candidate other than the one offered by the Georgian Dream; the nomination will be rejected by the Parliament; although in other circumstances President has the right to disband the Parliament, he can’t do so this time because constitution bans dissolving the new Parliament within six months after the elections and for six months the cabinet and acting PM in a form of interim government may operate even in case of opposition from the Parliament.

Bokeria said that resorting to such a scenario would have been disrespect of “a clear will expressed by the Georgian voters” in the October 1 parliamentary elections.

“We should respect the will of our voters and the Georgian Dream has such a clear majority in the Parliament… that to start dragging out the process [of composition of new government] with the use of existing constitutional provisions would have been voters’ insult,” Bokeria said.

Bokeria also said that President Saakashvili’s United National Movement party, which will turn into a parliamentary opposition, “will of course remain in the politics and we will continue defending principles for which we have fought for all these years.”

“We have fundamental differences with the team which has won the elections – these are very fundamental issues, value-based issues, strategic issues… but decisions in Georgian are made by the majority of those participating in the elections and that’s what has happened in these elections,” Bokeria said.