Stanislav Lakoba: “The people lay hopes on the president Hajimba!”

Results of presidential election which has passed in Abkhazia were commented by Stanislav Lakoba at our request. He is the known historian and the writer, public figure and the politician, now the professor of the Abkhazian State University. There are no secrets in policy for Stanislav Lakoba, after all he headed Security Council of the Republic of Abkhazia twice: from 2005 till 2009 and from 2011 till 2013.
— Stanislav Zosimovich, Raul Hajimba won a victory on elections. Was it a surprise for you?
- For me such outcome didn’t become the opening. I understood that everything has to be solved already in the first round. I told it not in the kitchen, but publicly. Including, I expressed it in the press. Opinion that everything will even in the first round I formulated several months ago and it didn’t change since then.
Raul Hajimba’s victory was programmed in the sense that the officials had to lose. Hajimba wasn’t supported by any official!
As a matter of fact all nomenclature was against him — all administrative resource remained with the former power. They actively involved it, but thus lost all the same. They didn’t understand that our people were already tired of it. Well, and, of course, passport system issue (the question of issue of passports to the Georgian population in border areas — edition) played a role in a position of Hajimba.
— For you it especially was a basic moment. After all in due time you left a position of the secretary of Security Council because of disagreements with the president of the republic on this matter.
- I am the historian therefore in this question everything was obvious to me from the very beginning. In 2009 at the time of Bagapsh’s presidency I left because of it. But then I declared the position and it was known.

And when I returned to Security Council, saw that the former policy proceeds and, naturally, opposed it.
I opposed a position of the president and his environment. But this time I already left not by myself, but under the decree signed by the president. The reasons of my release weren’t explained … But such position of the president also led then to events which we observed.
— What can you tell about the new president of Abkhazia?
- I can tell that he proved himself as the consecutive person — for me it is very important. This is the statesman. And in passport questions he supported me before and now supports. This is not corrupted person that is very important. Therefore many believed him and went to vote for him a decade later after 2004. For these 10 years he, of course, added political experience, grew as the politician. And I think that Raul Hajimba qualitatively differed from other applicants for a post of the president on these elections.
The people understood all this and were afraid of the second round of elections. It was clear to all that if the second round will take place, so only thanks to falsification. But it didn’t occur; dirty technologies of visiting political strategists didn’t help also.
- What, in your opinion, now Raul Hajimbe needs to make the most important?
- The most important is to unite society about what the winner of elections spoke. But it is necessary to carry out not in words, but in practice. It is necessary to create the capable government — not corrupted, consisting of competent experts. The strong prime minister has to be, in my opinion. Also it is necessary to reconsider some things soon: for example, to confer more powers in the field of economy to the cabinet. We need to move in the direction of the mixed form of republican board — probably, to the presidential and parliamentary republic.
There is one more major moment — to bring an order in finance. After all there were plunders — it should be investigated and shown to the people carefully. The commission on this occasion has to be created.
You understand, it is one matter to win on elections and other is to offer something. It is necessary to offer something qualitative in all spheres, including the safety sphere. In this Hajimba also can prove. Though, has to tell that such hopes were rested upon the president Ankvab.
— He after all was the Minister of Internal Affairs and therefore it was perceived as the fighter with corruption.
- Yes, therefore people also supported him. By the way, I supported him too. But he then moved absolutely other policy so I was mistaken. But I corrected the mistake. I hope that today we won’t see any negative repetition of that situation.
I am sure that if the person isn’t spoiled, I mean Hajimba and the God willing more or less to separate from clan and another related matters, he can have a success. But he has to lean on team of adherents, of course. In Abkhazia very many people hope for it. It is possible to calm a situation, in the future we should elect the president by the parliament.
- So the first president of the republic Vladislav Ardzinba was elected.
- Yes, it was in 1994. And now it is necessary not to excite the population, not to enter it into a condition of a stress.
I think that much everything would be simpler if to expand the parliament, let us assume, to 50 people, to confer more powers them. And what it turns out: each president considers that if he is chosen in public, he can do everything that considers necessary.
And in this case the president already should answer before parliament. In my opinion, such reform ripened and it is necessary to us.
At the same time has to tell that I against the president possessed only representative functions. Under our conditions it is impossible to allow diarchies because there will be a destabilization again and so on.
It is necessary to transfer simply more powers to the cabinet and parliament that the president was engaged in safety issues, military questions, questions of domestic and foreign policy. Then everything will be normal.