Skip to main content
Menu Menu Close
Asia and the Pacific
Western Asia
Flag

Georgia

https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/

April 2025

Series of laws close civic and media space

Parliament passed several laws restricting civil society and media on 1 April, including a so-called “foreign agents” law (FARA) imposing sweeping registration requirements and sanctions on independent organisations and media outlets. The law tightens regulation on broadcasters and revokes a requirement to involve civil society in the legislative process. On 17 April it passed a law mandating prior permission from the Georgian Anti-Corruption Bureau to receive a grant from any foreign donor. The Georgian FARA law requires any organisation or individual deemed to be acting at the direction of a foreign power, including receiving a grant, to register with the government or face up to five years’ imprisonment. Broadcasters are now subject to stricter state ‘coverage standards’ and banned from foreign funding, which journalists say amounts to state control and censorship. The law on civil society participation was justified by what Georgian Dream lawmakers called the ‘anti-democratic’ actions of NGOs. 

Sources: OC Media (1), Caucasian Knot, OC Media (2) 

January 2025

Watchdogs say media executive's arrest was unwarranted

A leading media executive was sentenced to pre-trial detention on 12 January while she faces trial for slapping a police officer during an argument outside of a police station. Mzia Amaghlobeli, the founder of Georgian media outlets Netgazeti and Batumelebi, was arrested during a protest against the Georgian government’s repressive response to nationwide protests in December and January. Georgia’s media community, 14 embassies, the EU Human Rights Commissioner, and international politicians have called for Amaghlobeli to be released while she awaits trial, arguing her detention is without legal basis and intended to punish her for her media outlets’ investigations into human rights abuses and official corruption. The arrest comes as part of a wider crackdown on media and protest, including police violence, that has been criticized by international and domestic human rights monitors and press freedom organizations. As of 6 February, Amaghobeli had been on a hunger strike protesting her continued pre-trial detention for 25 days. 

Sources: Eurasianet (1), Eurasianet (2), OC Media, Interpress, BBC 

December 2024

New president sworn in amid protests and controversy

Georgia’s parliament inaugurated Mikheil Kavelashvili as the country’s new president on 29 December in a process met by public protests and condemned as illegitimate by the political opposition, the outgoing president Salome Zourabichivili, and much of Georgian civil society. The inauguration marks a new phase in Georgian politics, where the opposition and the government no longer recognize each other’s political or legal legitimacy. Kavelashvili was elected in a parliamentary session boycotted by opposition MPs. Critics hold that the October 2024 election was irreparably marred by irregularities and signs of tampering by the victorious Georgian Dream and call for a rerun. The final report from the OSCE election monitoring mission released on 27 December echoed these concerns, finding “reports of intimidation, coercion, inducement, and pressure on voters,” raising concerns about “the ability of some voters to freely form their opinions and cast their votes without fear of retribution.”

Sources: OC Media (1), British Broadcasting Corporation, OC Media (2), International IDEA, OSCE

New government moves against civil service independence

A new Public Service Law in effect on 30 December was criticized by civil servants and civil society organizations for giving the government excess influence over the staffing of nominally independent state agencies. Under the new law, upper and middle management civil servants will be classified as administrative staff, not civil servants, and can be hired and fired by the government at will. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association criticized the law for increasing the risk of the politicization of the civil service, and dozens of civil servants reported being dismissed without cause or in retaliation for previous criticism of government policies on 31 December and in early January 2025. Public competition will also no longer be required for these posts and candidates will not have to meet previously legislated competency requirements. All civil servants will be evaluated biannually instead of annually and two consecutive unsatisfactory evaluations will result in dismissal.

Sources: Civil.ge (1), Publika, Civil.ge (2), OC Media

November 2024

Mass protests after government pauses EU bid

Major protests broke out around the country after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced Georgia would be ‘pausing’ EU accession until 2028. The scale of the protests, as well as reports of excessive violence in the police response, led civil society observers and foreign officials to raise concerns about the country’s overall stability. Many high-ranking civil servants have resigned in protest and hundreds more have openly condemned the government’s actions. Over 300 protesters had been detained as of 3 December, and local rights NGOs accused police of torturing detainees. Tensions over the political neutrality of the country’s institutions were already high.  

UPDATE: Street protests continued throughout December 2024. Gangs of masked men in black clothes have also been filmed attacking protesters, journalists, and opposition figures, resulting in multiple hospitalizations. The government has denied reports of excessive force by police and any connection to the masked gangs, but no arrests of the latter have been made. The government also passed several new laws on 30 December making certain activities at protests, such as blocking a road, possessing unauthorized placards or posters, possessing firecrackers, or covering one’s face punishable by fines

Sources: Euronews, Eurasianet (1), OC Media (1), Netgazeti, Eurasianet (2), Reuters, OC Media (2), Publika, JAM News

See all event reports for this country

Global ranking per category of democratic performance in 2023

Chevron
Representation
84/173
Rights
58/173
Rule of Law
64/173
Participation
98/173

Basic Information

Chevron
Population Tooltip
3 715 483
System of government
Semi-Presidential system
Head of government
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze (since 2024)
Head of government party
Georgian Dream
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
22.0%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2024
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
3.04
Head of state
President Mikheil Kavelshvili (de facto)
Selection process for head of state
Indirect election (parliament + regional/local representatives)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
26/01/2021
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
90.18%
Tooltip text

Human Rights Treaties

Chevron
State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
No Action
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 4 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 7 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
in
Tooltip text

Create your monthly alerts

and receive a customized selection of reports directly in your inbox

Sign up

Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Dec 2024
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May 2025
Representation neutral Rights
Dec 2024
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May 2025
Representation neutral Rule of law
Dec 2024
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May 2025
Representation neutral Participation
Dec 2024
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May 2025

Global State of Democracy Indices

Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years

Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

Use the slider below to see how democratic performance has changed over time

0 10
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mobile < 640px