Political system of Georgia

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The Georgian President is sworn in in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi, January 2004

Georgia is a democratic republic with a strong presidential system and centralized administration. In its constitution of October 24, 1995, it is committed to fundamental and human rights . At the same time, Georgia was still a defective democracy until the early 2000s . Access to politics was secured through free and secret elections , but political and civil rights and the control of violence were often restricted. 2003 by the Rose Revolution cleared the way to a constitutional , representative democracy .

president

The president has a strong position vis-à-vis the government and parliament . He is the head of the state and the executive. He represents Georgia in foreign relations and forms the government and appoints high officials . He can also suspend or replace local government officials and initiate popular votes . He is determined by direct elections for five years. Presidents can only stand for re-election once.

In a constitutional amendment passed on February 6, 2004, the power of the President was further strengthened at the expense of Parliament and the Prime Minister. The President may block any parliamentary decision that he considers to be unconstitutional. He can dissolve parliament if the legislature does not accept the state budget submitted by his government after three votes. If parliament does not approve the composition of the government and the state budget within six months of the election of the president, he may appoint the ministers by decree and put the budget into effect. The interior, defense and security ministries have been removed from the prime minister's area of ​​responsibility and report directly to the president.

A new constitution came into force after the 2013 presidential election. This strengthens the rights of parliament and the government vis-à-vis the president. The head of government is no longer proposed by the president, but by the strongest party in parliament. In addition, the president loses the right to give instructions in domestic and foreign policy.

The President of Georgia has been Salome Zurabishvili . Her predecessors were Giorgi Margwelaschwili , Swiad Gamsachurdia , Eduard Shevardnadze and Micheil Saakaschwili .

government

The Georgian State Chancellery in Tbilisi
Ministry of Defense, Tbilisi

The head of government is the prime minister. He is elected by Parliament together with the Cabinet on the proposal of the President. The interior, defense and security ministries do not report to the prime minister, but directly to the president. The government and high officials can be voted out by parliament with a three-fifths majority.

houses of Parliament

President of the Parliament Dawit Ussupashvili
Distribution of seats in the
Parliament of Georgia in 2016
     
A total of 150 seats
  • KO : 115
  • ENM : 27
  • MGS : 1
  • Independent: 1
  • SPA : 6

The Georgian Parliament (Georgian Sakartwelos Parlamenti , Umaghiesi Sabcho ) is elected every four years and controls the government. It has the right to recall the government and high officials with a three-fifths majority. It can also take over from the president if he breaks the constitution. According to the constitution, the President of Parliament Dawit Ussupashvili is the highest-ranking official after the President and acts in the event of his replacement, resignation or death.

The parliament has 150 members. 77 MPs are elected using proportional representation, 73 MPs using majority voting in constituencies. A new parliament was elected on October 1, 2012 . In the parliamentary elections on October 1, 2012, the opposition alliance Georgian Dream , founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili , won a landslide. With 54.85 percent it won 83 seats in parliament and thus has an absolute majority. The previous ruling party United National Movement (ENM) gained 40.43 percent and forms the opposition with 67 seats. The other parties failed because of the threshold clause , which is 5 percent in parliamentary elections. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) assessed the election as free and democratic.

Parliament meets in spring and autumn. The spring sessions open on the first Tuesday in February and close on the last Friday in June. The fall sessions start on the first Tuesday in September and close on the third Friday in December. Passed laws are published in the Law Gazette (Georgian: Sakanonmdeblo Matsne ).

Political parties

Georgia's parties have the character of honorary parties and are tailored to the leadership staff. From 1995 to November 2003, the President was Eduard Shevardnadze guided Citizens Union of Georgia , the most influential party in the country. In the parliamentary elections on October 31, 1999, the Citizens' Union won an absolute majority with 41.85% of the vote. The current President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament were originally members of this party. Between autumn 2001 and summer 2002 they fell out with Shevardnadze, which led to a fundamental restructuring of the Georgian party system.

After the Rose Revolution and Shevardnadze's resignation in November 2003, the citizens' union fell apart completely. The new strong force in Georgia was the National Movement - Democrats . In the parliamentary elections on March 28, 2004, she won 66.24% of the vote. The chairman is President Mikheil Saakashvili . Since 2007, leading members of the ruling party have switched to the opposition and new parties have been founded. The most important of them came together in 2012 in the Georgian Dream party alliance. In the parliamentary elections in Georgia in 2012 , the alliance won a parliamentary majority with 54.85% of the vote.

The political parties of Georgia are:

The 30 professionally structured unions are united in the Federation of Georgian Trade Unions .

jurisdiction

The Georgian Constitutional Court monitors the application of the constitution . It has nine members who remain in office for ten years. Three of them are appointed by the President, three are elected by Parliament and three are appointed by the Georgian Supreme Court. The chairman of the constitutional court is elected by the college of judges. It is currently George Papuashvili.

The Georgian Supreme Court plays an important political role. It has constitutional status. Its members and the chairman of the court are elected by Parliament for ten years on the proposal of the President. In November 2003, the Supreme Court canceled the November 2, 2003 election of 150 proportional representation MPs for electoral fraud . The chairman of the Supreme Court is Konstantin Kublashvili.

administration

Abchasien Mingrelien und Oberswanetien Gurien Adscharien Ratscha-Letschchumi und Niederswanetien Imeretien Samzche-Dschawachetien Innerkartlien Mzcheta-Mtianeti Niederkartlien Kachetien Tiflis
Administrative division of Georgia (clickable map)

The administration of Georgia is highly centralized. It is divided at the upper level into nine regions (Georgian მხარები, mcharebi , singular mchare ), two autonomous republics (Georgian ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა, awtonomiuri respubliki , singular awtonom respublika ) and the capital.

The regions were introduced between 1994 and 1996 by a presidential decree. They are seen as a temporary measure until the secessionist problems with Abkhazia and South Ossetia are resolved. The head of the administration is formed by a state commissioner (Georgian სახელმწიფო რწმუნებული, sachelmzipo rzmunebuli ), informally known as the governor . He is appointed and recalled by the President. The regions are divided into several districts (Georgian რაიონი, reioni ).

The autonomous republics of Abkhazia and Ajaria are excluded from the centralized administrative structure . In administrative terms, South Ossetia is mainly part of the Shida Kartlien region, but like Abkhazia is largely outside the control of the central government.

Upper level

  1. Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia (აფხაზეთის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა), capital Sukhumi (სოხუმი)
  2. Mingrelia region - Semo-Svaneti (სამეგრელოს და ზემო სვანეთის მხარე, Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti), capital Zugdidi (ზუგდიდი)
  3. Guria region (გურიის მხარე), capital Osurgeti (ოზურგეთი)
  4. Autonomous Republic of Adjara (აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა), capital Batumi (ბათუმი)
  5. Ratscha-Letschchumi and Lower Svaneti region (რაჭა-ლეჩხუმის და ქვემო სვანეთის მხარე, Ratscha-Letschchumi - Lower Svaneti), capital Ambrolauri (ამბროლაური)
  6. Region Imereti (იმერეთის მხარე), capital Kutaisi (ქუთაისი)
  7. Region Samtskhe-Javakheti (სამცხე-ჯავახეთის მხარე), capital Akhaltsikhe (ახალციხე)
  8. Inner Kartlien region (შიდა ქართლის მხარე; German Inner Kartlien), capital Gori (გორი)
  9. Region Mtskheta-Mtianeti (მცხეთა-მთიანეთის მხარე), capital Mtskheta (მცხეთა)
  10. Region Niederkartlien (ქვემო ქართლის მხარე, Nieder-Kartlien), capital Rustawi (რუსთავი)
  11. Region Kakheti (კახეთის მხარე), capital Telavi (თელავი)
  12. Georgia's capital Tbilisi (საქართველოს დედაქალაქის - თბილისი)

Middle level

  • 67 districts (რაიონი - singular )
  • 6 independent cities (დამოუკიდებელი ქალაქი): Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Rustavi, Poti , Batumi, Sukhumi

Municipal level

  • 55 cities (ქალაქი) that belong to a district
  • 50 small towns (დაბა)
  • 842 municipalities (თემი)
  • 165 villages (სოფელი)

Democratic deficits

Freedom House Indices
Georgia
political rights / civil liberties
(from 1 = free to 7 = not free)
2018: 3/3
2017: 3/3
2016: 3/3
2015: 3/3
2014: 3/3
2013: 3/3
2012: 3/4
2011: 4/4
2010: 4/4
2009: 4/4
2008: 4/4
2007: 3/3
2006: 3/3
2005: 3/4
2004: 4/4
2003: 4/4

Political and civil rights as well as the control of violence are repeatedly restricted in Georgia. The Council of Europe and the US State Department have repeatedly called for democracy and human rights to be more firmly rooted in Georgia. In October 2004, 14 leading Georgian human rights activists issued an open letter to President Saakashvili warning of the emergence of new authoritarian rule structures.

Georgia's parliament set up a state ombudsman in September 2004 to curb restrictions on civil rights. In five departments, his authority is to examine the court system, the penal system, the state police, freedom of information and religion, civil rights, social and administrative issues and the army. In the months from January to July 2005 alone, he found 893 violations of the rights of the accused and accused by the Georgian police. There were 815 human rights violations and 78 violations of criminal procedure law .

In 2004 the police violently broke up demonstrations by dissatisfied citizens in Tbilisi. In July she drove taxi drivers and pensioners apart in front of the town hall, in September residents of the city of Terjola who had gathered in front of the state chancellery.

In December 2005, the Council of Europe's observer committee responsible for Georgia criticized a “culture of violence and torture in prisons and remand prisons” . According to Amnesty Internationals, the prosecutors mainly torture their families with electric shocks, plastic bags put over their heads , lighted cigarettes and candles, beatings and threats against the family. Between December 2003 and October 2004 alone, 558 people who had been tortured and beaten by Georgian authorities came forward.

The former chairman of the state control commission, Sulkhan Molashvili, was arrested in April 2004 for alleged embezzlement of state funds. He was tortured with electric shocks and glowing cigarettes at the Georgian Interior Ministry. The Tbilisi prosecutor promised to release him if he pays $ 265,000 to the state treasury. Molashvili paid the sum but was not released. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in March 2006.

Rewas Okruashvili, editor-in-chief of the Chalchis Gazeti (German People's Newspaper ) in Gori , was arrested on August 2, 2004 on direct instructions from the Georgian Interior Minister, Irakli Okruashvili, for alleged drug trafficking after his newspaper accused the police and government of the Shida Kartli region of participating in smuggling operations . A judge corrected the interior minister.

When the government-affiliated television broadcaster Rustavi 2 was facing bankruptcy on June 8, 2004 because of debts in the millions, the Georgian government forgave it tax debts of 2.2 million US dollars. President Mikheil Saakashvili said he would not bankrupt any television company, no matter what amount it owed. 10% of the Rustavi -2 shares belonged to the then Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia, Nika Tabatadze, who was formerly director general of the television station.

The selection of the Central Election Commission , which is supposed to ensure that the parliamentary elections are carried out properly, is also controversial . Any Georgian could apply for this commission. However, the members were identified in May and June 2005 by a committee chaired by the head of the presidential administration, Giorgi Ugulawa , and proposed to parliament by the president. A former business friend of Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli's, Gia Kawtaradze, became chairman. Both were partners in a legal and financial advisory firm from 2002 to 2003.

After its attack on South Ossetia , the Georgian government blocked Russian websites. However, it is not about censorship , but about "protecting the population from Russian propaganda, " said the Interior Ministry.

After a video with torture scenes from a Georgian prison became known, the minister responsible for detention matters, Chatuna Kalmachelidze, resigned on 19 September 2012. The next day, the Georgian Interior Minister Batscho Akhalaya resigned from office.

literature

  • Wolfgang Gaul: Constitution in Georgia. Results of international legal advice in a transition state . Berlin-Verlag Spitz, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-8305-0208-7
  • Barbara Christophe: Transformation as Staging: On the Institutional Embedding of Corruption in Georgia . In: Hans-Hermann Höhmann (Ed.): Culture as a determining factor in the transformation in Eastern Europe . Bremen 2001, pp. 157-175
  • Barbara Christophe: Metamorphoses of Leviathan in a post-socialist society. Georgia's province between facades of anarchy and regulatory omnipotence , Bielefeld 2005, ISBN 3-89942-323-2
  • David Aphrasidze: The Foreign and Security Policy of Georgia: On the Role of Small and Weak States in the New European Peace Order . Nomos, Baden-Baden 2003, ISBN 3-8329-0351-8
  • Ghia Nodia, Álvaro Pinto Scholtbach: The Political Landscape of Georgia: Political Parties: Achievements, Challenges and Prospects . Eburon, Delft 2006, ISBN 90-5972-113-6
  • Bruno Coppieters, Robert Legvold (eds.): Statehood and security: Georgia after the Rose Revolution . MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. 2005, ISBN 0-262-03343-7
  • Philipp H. Fluri, Eden Cole: From Revolution to Reform. Georgia's Struggle with Democratic Institution Building and Security Sector Reform . National Defense Academy, Vienna / Geneva 2005, ISBN 3-902275-18-9
  • Lado Chanturia: Judicial Reform: The Georgian Experience . Bakur Sulakauri Publishing, Tbilisi 2002
  • Andro Barnovi: Russian stance in the Caucasus and the national security strategy of Georgia . Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif. 2005

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Georgia's President forfeits several powers of attorney de.rian.ru, November 5, 2010.
  2. ^ Civil Georgia: Parliamentary Elections 2012 , Civil.ge, accessed October 7, 2012
  3. ↑ faz.net: Parliamentary election in Georgia: Saakashvili admits defeat , October 2, 2012
  4. ↑ Georgia blocks Russian websites ORF , August 19, 2008.
  5. ↑ http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/foltervideos100.html ( Memento from September 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), accessed September 20, 2012
  6. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Accessed September 23, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.georgien-aktuell.de