Georgia: Government

Principal Government Officials

Chief of State: President Mikheil Saakashvili
Head of Government: Prime Minister Nikoloz Gilauri

Georgia is a republic in which the president is elected for a term of 5 years, limited to two terms. The constitutional successor is the speaker of Parliament.

Parliamentary elections on November 2, 2003 were marred by irregularities and fraud according to local and international observers. Popular demonstrations ensued in the streets of Tbilisi. Protestors carried roses in their hands in events that became known as the Rose Revolution. President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned on November 23, 2003, and Speaker of Parliament Nino Burjanadze assumed the role of Interim President. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected to a 5-year term as president in January 2004. Parliamentary elections were re-held in March 2004 and President Saakashvili's party, National Movement, combined with Speaker Burjanadze's party, the Burjanadze-Democrats, won the majority of seats.

On May 24, 2005, the Parliament passed legislation to decentralize power from the central government in Tbilisi to local government authorities in the regions, although much remains to be done before meaningful decentralization is fully achieved. Elections were held on October 5, 2006 for 1,732 members of 69 local councils and seven city governments.

An early presidential election was scheduled after President Saakashvili resigned in November 2007, following the government’s violent dispersal of protestors in front of Parliament. Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze assumed the presidency on an interim basis until January elections.

On January 5, 2008, Saakashvili was elected to a second 5-year term with 53.45% of the vote. Levan Gachechiladze, the unified candidate of nine opposition parties, earned 25.68%. Voters also overwhelmingly voted in two plebiscites in favor of NATO integration and spring parliamentary elections.

In the May 21, 2008 parliamentary elections, President Saakashvili’s United National Movement won an overwhelming majority with 119 out of 150 seats. International observers agreed that the government made efforts to conduct the elections in line with international standards but that the elections were uneven and incomplete in their adherence to those standards. Half of the opposition boycotted the new Parliament, citing voter intimidation, lack of balance by most media, and a lack of fair adjudication of complaints, problems also noted by the OSCE. As a result, by-elections were held in Tbilisi and Adjara on November 3, 2008. In the fall of 2009, Parliament passed legislation allowing those individuals who had refused to take their seats following the May 2008 elections to assume office if they so chose.

In December 2009, Parliament passed a new electoral code, providing for the direct election of Tbilisi’s mayor for the first time and the expansion of Tbilisi’s city council, among other reforms. Municipal elections held on May 30, 2010 were evaluated by international monitors from the OSCE as marking evident progress toward meeting OSCE and Council of Europe standards for democratic elections, but with significant shortcomings remaining, including a flawed election code, the misuse of administrative resources, and lack of balanced media coverage for opposition candidates. The United National Movement won the majority of seats in each of the country’s municipal councils, including in Tbilisi, and its candidate was elected mayor of the capital.

On October 15, 2010, the Parliament approved a number of amendments to the constitution, including provisions that shift political powers from the president to the prime minister following the 2013 presidential election. The Council of Europe’s Venice Commission considered the October 15 constitutional amendments to contain “several important improvements” but criticized the no-confidence procedures as a potential source of instability due to the time frame involved in the process and a potentially cumbersome process. Civil society activists, opposition leaders, the Venice Commission, and others had urged the Parliament to extend the period of debate which would have allowed “greater public buy-in and credibility.”

Parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2012 and a presidential election is scheduled for 2013. Under Georgia’s constitution, President Saakashvili is prevented from running for a third term in 2013.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
In 2004, the Government of Georgia initiated a variety of important reforms. The reform process is ongoing, and will require further implementation to achieve stated objectives.

Specifically, the government has taken action against endemic corruption, receiving high marks from the World Bank. These initiatives have included reform of the notorious traffic police and implementation of a fair examination system for entering the university system.

Further reforms have aimed at increasing respect for and strengthening the rule of law, such as 2006 constitutional amendments intended to increase the independence of the judiciary and 2007 legislation banning ex parte communication (prohibiting parties to a case from communicating with judges during the pre-trial investigation period and the trial). Legislation establishing a legal aid office was passed, making available assistance and representation in court proceedings to those indigent who request it. The Parliament passed a new, Council of Europe-compliant Criminal Procedure Code in October 2009, which entered into force in October 2010. The code encourages accountability and professionalism in the police force by barring the use of illegally seized evidence and includes better-defined rights and due process protections for those arrested. The code provides for the right to a jury trial in cases of aggravated murder, and includes measures intended to increase the speediness of trials and to allow for equal access by the defense to case discovery. Implementation of judicial reforms is ongoing, and has not fully addressed claims that the judiciary remains under pressure from the executive branch. The internal management process for hiring, promotion, transfer, and discipline of judges remains ill-defined. The government launched an aggressive campaign to combat trafficking in persons, and Georgia has had a Tier 1 ranking in the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report since 2008.

The Ministry of Justice recently launched a program to increase services for victims and witnesses in criminal cases. This effort is an extension of the ministry's ongoing program to provide enhanced public access/public service to court and other civil service agencies.

Concerns about limitations on political pluralism and other components of democracy continue, and various opposition parties have at times taken to the streets in protest, demanding the President’s resignation and early elections. Street protests organized by the opposition were generally met with restraint by the authorities and dissipated. However, in May 2011, police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of demonstrators--some of whom were carrying poles and staffs--who refused to vacate the front of the Parliament building after their permit expired, resulting in dozens of injuries and two deaths. The U.S. and others called for an investigation into the use of force, and government investigations resulted in the firing of four police officers and numerous reprimands. There remain some concerns about the transparency of these investigations.

There continues to be concern about the state of media freedom in Georgia, and more work is required to strengthen independent media and increase public access to information. In April 2011, the Georgian Parliament passed legislation on media transparency that requires improved financial disclosures and regulates offshore ownership of broadcast media. New electoral code reform legislation is expected to be passed before the end of 2011 in anticipation of the 2012 parliamentary elections and 2013 presidential elections.

Russia continues to occupy the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. On August 26, 2008, Russia recognized these regions as independent, in violation of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. February and April 2010 agreements between Moscow and the de facto Abkhaz and de facto South Ossetian authorities, respectively, establishing Russian military bases in the separatist regions for 49 years, are inconsistent with the terms of the August 12 cease-fire agreement negotiated by French President Sarkozy and signed by Georgian President Saakashvili and Russian President Medvedev. The cease-fire agreement calls for the parties to: refrain from resorting to the use of force, ensure a definitive halt to hostilities, provide free humanitarian access to the separatist regions, withdraw forces to their pre-conflict positions, and open international discussions on security and stability in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In accordance with this agreement the EU, UN, and OSCE co-host ongoing Geneva-based talks on security and stability arrangements in the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions. The governments of Georgia, Russia, and the United States send representatives to participate in the talks, and de facto authorities from Abkhazia and South Ossetia also participate, as do representatives of the Abkhaz and South Ossetian governments-in-exile. The talks have established Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms (IPRMs) designed to foster stability on the ground, including on the administrative boundary lines and in the conflict areas. Other items on the agenda include security, unfettered access to Abkhazia and South Ossetia for international monitors and human rights groups, and the return of internally displaced persons and refugees. On November 23, 2010, in addition to the pledge already made in the August 2008 cease-fire, President Saakashvili pledged a unilateral non-use of force at the EU Parliament.

The de facto authorities in Abkhazia continue to restrict the rights, primarily of ethnic Georgians, to vote, participate in the political process, and exercise basic rights such as property ownership, business registration, and travel. Ethnic Georgians also have suffered harassment by Abkhaz and Russian forces, forced conscription in the Abkhaz "army," a lack of funding for basic infrastructure maintenance, and limitations on Georgian-language instruction in the Gali district schools.

The mandate for the OSCE mission to monitor the 1992 cease-fire in South Ossetia and to facilitate negotiations between parties to the conflict expired in 2008. The UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) established to monitor compliance with the 1994 cease-fire agreement in Abkhazia came to an end in June 2009. Neither mandate was extended after Russia blocked consensus among participating member states in the OSCE and vetoed a Security Council resolution to extend the mandate of the UN mission. The EU maintains a monitoring mission on the undisputed Georgian side of the administrative boundary lines between the separatist regions and undisputed Georgia, but is not allowed inside Abkhazia or South Ossetia by the separatists or occupying Russian forces.

Membership in NATO remains a priority for Georgia. In support of this objective, Georgia's military continues to undergo a process of reform. In September 2006, NATO granted Georgia “Intensified Dialogue” on requirements for membership in the organization. In September 2008, NATO and Georgia established the NATO-Georgia Commission (NGC) to enhance NATO’s relations with Georgia, coordinate NATO post-conflict assistance efforts, and underpin Georgia’s efforts in political, economic, and defense-related reforms. In December 2008, NATO foreign ministers agreed that Georgia should develop an annual national program under the auspices of the NGC. At the June 2010 NATO Defense Ministerial and at the November 2010 North Atlantic Council meeting in Lisbon, NATO countries reaffirmed the Alliance’s continued support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and its aspirations for NATO membership as agreed at the April 2008 NATO Summit in Bucharest.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Georgia's location between the Black Sea, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey gives it strategic importance as a transit corridor. It is developing as the gateway from the Black Sea to the Caucasus and the Caspian basin. Following Russian bans on imports of Georgian wine, mineral water, and agricultural products, and the severing of transportation links in 2006, Georgia has reached out to other neighbors and to the West to diversify its export markets.

Georgia is a member of the UN, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, World Trade Organization (WTO), Council of Europe, Organization for Democracy and Economic Development-GUAM, and Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). In August 2008, following the Georgia-Russia conflict, its Parliament voted unanimously to withdraw from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In accordance with the CIS charter, this measure took effect 1 year later. Georgia has a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) and a Neighborhood Action Plan with the EU, and is an active participant in the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative, which offers bilateral and multilateral measures and assistance for enhanced EU cooperation with the Caucasus, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. Negotiations on an EU Association Agreement to replace Georgia’s PCA began in July 2010.

Georgia participates in NATO's Partnership for Peace program, and as of August 2011 was the second-largest non-NATO troop contributor to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Since March 2010, Georgia has provided a battalion--approximately 750 soldiers--to participate in ISAF operations, fighting without national caveats alongside U.S. Marines in Helmand Province. In June 2011, Georgia announced it would send an additional battalion, for a total of two battalions in combat, to Afghanistan by the fall of 2012. Upon deployment of this second battalion, Georgia will become the largest non-NATO contributor of troops to ISAF operations.

Sources: