Georgia
Georgia is a republic located in the South Caucasus. It exhibits mid-range performance across all Global State of Democracy (GSoD) categories of democracy. Over the past five years, it has experienced significant declines in Freedom of Association and Assembly and Freedom of Expression. Some of these concerns are due to heavy-handed repression of anti-government protesters and civil society as well as hostile environment for media. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Georgia endured years of political instability and a severe economic collapse, but is now an upper-middle-income country and a consistently mid-performing democracy. Especially since the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, much of Georgian public policy has been oriented towards advancing Euro-Atlantic integration, including aiming for membership in NATO and the European Union. Although these processes have spurred significant foreign direct investment and economic growth, in recent years the economy has become increasingly dependent on remittances from the 23 per cent of the labour force that works outside the country.
Georgia is overwhelmingly composed of ethnic Georgians (86 per cent or the population), but has sizable Azerbaijani, Armenian, Abkhaz, Ossetian and other smaller minorities. Ethnic minorities’ grievances in the early years of independence strengthened separatist Abkhaz and Ossetian movements, leading to the Georgian Civil War (1991-1993). Russia intervened on behalf of Abkhaz and Ossetian separatists, and the war ended after the displacement of roughly 300,000 people -- primarily ethnic Georgians -- from the self-declared and largely unrecognized Republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Then in 2008, Russia baited an incautious Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili into providing an excuse to launch a full-scale war, which resulted in Russia establishing de facto control over both separatist republics and displacing an additional 135,000 Georgians and Ossetians. As of 2022, roughly 286,000 Georgians (eight per cent of the population), are registered as internally displaced people, and hold an uncertain place in Georgian society. Although the overwhelming majority of Georgians see Russia as a threat, far-right movements as well as the powerful and influential Georgian Orthodox Church occasionally find common cause with Russia on issues of national identity and opposition to LGBTQIA+ rights. Georgia performs in the high range on Gender Equality, electing its first woman president in 2018 and implementing a gender quota in parliament in 2020.
For the past decade, Georgian politics have been dominated by the United National Movement (UNM) and the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has held national power since defeating UNM in 2012. Since then, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is the head of the UNM and Georgia’s richest man, has been Georgia’s de facto ruler, despite having only intermittently held office. Although the parties largely agree ideologically, identity-based polarization has become intense in recent years, and government - attacks on media and civil society organizations seen to be unacceptably pro-UNM increased sharply in 2021 and 2022.
Georgia’s trajectory in the next five years will be determined by whether it progresses in its long-term goal of EU membership or, as critics argue the government is doing, reorients towards Russia. It will be important to watch Freedom of Expression in light of recent efforts to clamp down on critical voices in media, civil society, and politics.
Updated: September 2024
https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/
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.
Sources: Euronews, Eurasianet (1), OC Media (1), Netgazeti (1), Eurasianet (2)
October 2024
Observers and analysts criticize election’s fairness
International election observers criticized the conduct of Georgia’s 2024 parliamentary election, citing widespread pressure on voters to support the ruling party, the underrepresentation of women (partly due to the removal of gender quotas), limited campaign finance oversight that favoured the ruling Georgian Dream party, and more. Observers also found the election to be “marred by concerns over recently adopted legislation [and] its impact on fundamental freedoms and civil society.” Data analysts also found evidence of irregular patterns in electoral precinct data that indicated some degree of vote-buying, ballot stuffing, or other activities in favour of Georgian Dream. The domestic opposition pledged to boycott the incoming Parliament, Sweden suspended development cooperation with the Georgian government, and US President Joe Biden and other Western officials called on the Georgian government to fully investigate reports of electoral interference and voter pressure.
Sources: OSCE, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Civil.ge
UPDATE: Georgia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) certified the results of the election on 16 November. The announcement was disrupted when a representative of the opposition United National Movement threw black paint in the face of CEC chair Giorgi Kalandarishvili. Georgian rights NGOs accused the country’s courts of ‘fast-tracking’ and rejecting lawsuits challenging the conduct of October parliamentary elections in order to ensure results could be certified as scheduled. Parliament was inaugurated on 25 November, and legal experts argue the ruling Georgian Dream party’s decision to do so was unconstitutional, as the Constitutional Court was still reviewing a case lodged by President Salome Zourabichvili contesting the validity of the election.
New Sources: OC Media, Netgazeti, RBC Ukraine
Georgia holds legislative elections under new electoral system
On 26 October, Georgia held a parliamentary election in which all 150 seats were contested under a fully proportional system for the first time. The incumbent right-wing Georgian Dream remained the largest party and won 89 seats with a vote share of 53.93 per cent. The centre-right Coalition for Change secured 19 seats with a vote share of 11.03 per cent. The Unity National Movement became the third-largest coalition, securing 16 seats with a vote share of 10.17 per cent. President Salome Zourabichvili, along with the opposition and civil society, have rejected the results of the election and have called for protests against the ruling party. Election observation missions have expressed concern about possible intimidation and vote buying surrounding the election. Voter turnout in the election stood at 58.73 per cent, a slight increase from the 2020 turnout of 56.75 per cent.
Sources: Associated Press, British Broadcasting Corporation, Election Administration of Georgia, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
September 2024
Parliament approves controversial bill restricting LGBTQIA+ rights
On 17 September, the Georgian Parliament unanimously approved the bill “on family values and protection of minors” on its third and final reading. Parliamentary votes have been continuously boycotted by opposition MPs since the passing of the contested “foreign agents’ law” earlier this year. The bill includes a wide-ranging set of laws restricting the rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals, prohibiting the legal recognition of same-sex couples and transgender individuals, eliminating their right to gender-affirming care and criminalizing the depiction of LGBTQIA+ individuals in the media. The bill has faced criticism from domestic civil society and from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The day following the approval of the bill saw the murder of a high-profile transgender woman.
Sources: Politico, International IDEA, Reuters, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Le Monde, Civil Georgia, UNHCR, General Prosecutor’s Office
August 2024
Georgian Dream promises to ban opposition after elections
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze outlined the ruling Georgian Dream’s plan to ban all the country’s major pro-Western political parties should his party win the October 2024 parliamentary elections. In a speech on 23 August, Kobakhidze expanded on what had previously been a vague Georgian Dream election promise to “ban” the primary political opposition, the United National Movement, and specified that all members of “pro-Western” factions would be banned from taking office as “in reality, all these are one political force.” A spokesperson for the European Commission said the move was “concerning”.
Sources: OC Media, Civil.ge, National Agency of Public Registry, Politico
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