Georgia

Political Party Development

One of the crucial elements in furthering democracy building in Georgia is creating and maintaining well-organized and stable political parties. After the "Rose Revolution," all major political parties that did not enter the new government lost credibility with the electorate and discovered the need to re-build their organizations from the ground up.

The parties now face a new political reality in which realize they need to coalesce to gain momentum. New coalitions emerged, as parties realized they would have a better chance of success in the January 2008 presidential election and the May 2008 parliamentary elections, if they were united. Many parties are still defining their relationship with the new government and learning to navigate the new political environment. To assist the parties, the International Republican Institute (IRI) offers training on message development, strategy, management and grassroots organizational development.

IRI’s efforts have led many political parties to establish their own strategic party plans, activities and ideologies as well as independently operate training centers and campaign academies for their regional party members. Parties are also developing local chapters and holding party elections to outline the specific roles and responsibilities of its leaders.

Public Opinion Polling

A critical component of developing a party plan is the ability to accurately gauge the political sentiment within the electorate. Political parties may themselves conduct many forms of research needed to formulate a party plan, such as demographic research and opposition research. However, in order to accurately assess opinions of the electorate, it is necessary to incorporate the use of public opinion polls into the party plan and message development process. This also helps parties direct their focus on issue-based message campaigns.

In order to meet this need, IRI is conducting a series of public opinion polls to track the opinions of the electorate. When each poll is completed, IRI meets with political party leaders to share the results. IRI's goal is that through consultations on polling data and analyses, Georgian political parties will learn how to use survey research to conduct more effective political campaigns. In addition, IRI shares its polling analyses with the government of Georgia to assist it in managing expectations and identifying important areas of policy reform.

A significant number of campaign managers in the 2008 parliamentary by-elections were not only trained by IRI, but also used the polling data in formulating their campaign strategy and in developing their party platforms.

Youth Party Building

IRI works with all relevant political parties to promote youth participation within their parties. IRI encourages the creation of viable political entities that stand independently from their parent organizations. Through day-to-day consultations, IRI assists youth organizations in determining their role and influence within the political party structure.

Another aspect of IRI's youth work is the facilitation of exchanges between youth leaders in Georgia and youth leaders from neighboring countries. The purpose of the exchanges is to allow youth leaders from other countries to work directly with their Georgian counterparts to obtain practical information on successful youth party building techniques and how to run successful political campaigns.

As a result of IRI's efforts, numerous political parties have given more notice to youth and organized youth organizations and chapters within their respective parties. Some parties opened youth party offices on a regional basis. Together with these local chapters, IRI conducted seminars throughout Georgia with the goal of developing a grassroots network of youth activists.

Women's Program

IRI consults with local representatives from women's nongovernmental organizations and female candidates for municipal government to encourage women to take an active role in the political process. Seminars and consultations in the spring of 2008 attempted to direct the efforts of women towards participating in the May parliamentary elections. Additional focus was placed on election observation trainings for women from Georgian political parties to assist their party organizations as they strengthen the organizational structure and develop action plans for the future.

IRI has been assisting the newly-formed Christian Democratic Movement party as it develops its women’s organization. In addition, IRI is involved in developing the relationship between the women’s organizations of two other recently united parties.

Local Governance Program

In October 2008, IRI began a new initiative working with locally elected officials throughout the country. First, IRI conducted an assessment of regional local governments. This initial assessment highlighted the level of experience of locally elected officials and their staff, as well as identified knowledge of national legislation, functions of a local government and performance skills. The assessment allowed IRI to create a local governance training program tailored to the Georgian context.

The training sessions for local government representatives are being used to increase and improve communication of the local governments to their citizens, and foster the understanding within the local government bodies that responsiveness to the citizenry is a priority. IRI uses local governance experts from foreign countries and local experts to serve as trainers. Throughout the year, follow-on consultations aimed at increasing confidence in government institutions and deepening democratic culture in Georgia will be held.

IRI aims to provide government officials and civil servants with the skills necessary to effectively address the issues highlighted in public opinion research and practically enhance their ability to address the key areas of weakness cited in the research data, while upholding national laws, processes and procedures in day-to-day performances.

After a troubled period of civil war following independence, Georgia emerged as one of the more progressive countries of the former Soviet Republics. Political stability and a strong commitment to democracy, led by President Eduard Shevardnadze, began with the adoption of a new constitution in August 1995 and the election of a pro-reform parliament in November 1995. The first-ever local elections in November 1998, and the 1999 parliamentary and 2000 presidential elections, further demonstrated Georgia's commitment to the development of democracy.

Following the 2000 election, Georgia's democratic process slowed as corruption in the government became more prevalent. The morale of the Georgian citizens began to wane as pensions were not paid and the lack of gas and electricity left them cold in the winter. These events gave the opposition parties a stronger voice as it became apparent that President Shevardnadze only had limited control over his government.

The November 2, 2003, parliamentary elections were marred by blatant voting irregularities. In response, the people of Georgia took to the streets of Tbilisi, led by Mikheil Saakashvili, in what is now called the "Rose Revolution" and forced President Shevardnadze to resign. As a result of the January 4, 2004, presidential election, Mikheil Saakashvili, leader of the National Movement-United Democrats coalition, was elected by an overwhelming majority. He won on the promises of attacking corruption, improving the economic situation and restoring Georgia's territorial integrity.

During 2006, Georgia held its first ever nationwide school board elections which gave communities a voice in the future education of their children. Additionally, on October 5, 2006, the country held regional municipal elections and elected the mayor of Tbilisi, the capital.

In January 2008, Georgia held early presidential elections, precipitated by the civil unrest of the previous November which had led to the resignation of President Saakashvili. Despite the newly-united opposition, President Saakashvili succeeded in winning a new term. IRI sent a delegation to observe the elections and found them generally free and fair, although some flaws in the process were evident.

A referendum was also passed, calling for early parliamentary elections, which were held in May. The ruling United National Movement won nearly 60 percent of the proportional vote and 71 of 75 majoritarian seats, giving them a constitutional majority. Thus virtually shut out of the parliament, members of the nine-party United Opposition and the Labor Party refused to take up their mandates, leaving only the newly formed Christian-Democrats in opposition.

On August 7, 2008, Georgian ground forces entered the breakaway province of South Ossetia following several days of border skirmishes with Ossetian militias. Though the actual sequence of events remains unclear, Russian forces responded by invading Georgian territory across the northern border of South Ossetia and by landing troops in Abkhazia. Negotiations between the Russians and the French represented by President Sarkozy, resulted in the withdrawal of the majority of Russian forces from Georgian territory. Following the conflict, Abkhazia and South Ossetia declared their respective independence, although the only country to recognize them has been Russia.

As Georgians continue to implement democratic reforms and anti-corruption programs in the wake of the August War, they have faced growing challenges including continued economic blockade enforced by Russia and the even more uncertain status of the separatist regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Political Overview

Head of Government: President Mikheil Saakashvili

Type of Government: republic

Suffrage: universal, age 18

Elections Calendar

Program Overview

Focus of Program: youth initiatives and political party building

Funding Source: United States Agency for International Development and the National Endowment for Democracy