Georgia

Georgia presents a mixed picture of the state of democracy. After several years of incremental improvements, significant challenges persist in improving electoral processes and campaign finance integrity, independence of judiciary, freedom of the media and the ability of parliament to exercise effective control of the executive.

International IDEA has been involved in fostering democratic reforms in Georgia from as far back as the early 2000s. Over the past years, International IDEA’s focus has been on supporting reforms aimed at limiting the role of money in politics and enhancing the expertise of the State Audit Office in the oversight of political finance. In 2017 Georgia launched an online reporting and disclosure system for political party donations , to which International IDEA has contributed with international comparative knowledge. Where Georgia’s experience is especially valuable, such as the civic oversight and advocacy for integrity in political finance, the Institute has helped to facilitate its dissemination among other CSO actors in the region.

We frequently engage Georgian actors in our region wide work on promoting democratic constitutional design and support to constitutionalism. We do so by engaging Georgian constitutional law experts for the advocacy of constitutional reforms in the country and in region. In 2022, International IDEA established a Network for the Promotion of Constitutionalism in Eastern Europe, which also comprises prominent constitutional scholars and practitioners from Georgia.