Republican Party of Georgia

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The Republican Party of Georgia ( Georgian საქართველოს რესპუბლიკური პარტია) is a party in Georgia . It is a center-right liberal party that seeks democratic reforms in the country's political system based on decentralization and federalism . The party's chairman is Dawit Ussupashvili , a US-trained political science specialist and former chairman of the Association of Young Lawyers of Georgia . The party is a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and an observer to the Liberal International .

history

First non-communist party

The Republican Party was founded on May 21, 1978 as the first non-communist party in the Soviet Union . Until the end of the USSR, she worked illegally in the underground , issued the samizdat Samreklo . In 1983 , Chairman Vakhtang Dzabiradze and three other board members were arrested by the KGB and sentenced to several years imprisonment for "anti-Soviet propaganda" .

Opposition to Gamsakhurdia and Shevardnadze

In the first free elections in Georgia in 1990 , the party won three seats in parliament and, along with the Popular Front , formed the first opposition faction in the Georgian parliament. After the coup against Georgia's first president, Sviad Gamsakhurdia , the party held a seat in the provisional government, the State Council, from March to October 1992 . The party was again in opposition to Gamsachurdia's successor, Eduard Shevardnadze. In the October 1999 elections , the Republican Party missed the seven percent threshold with 4.46% of the vote.

Alliance with Saakashvili

In April 2002 , the party merged with the later President Mikheil Saakashvili and his party United National Movement (ENM) to form the National Movement - Democratic Front (EMDP). The party successfully won the Tbilisi city council election in June 2002. In November 2003, it was a supporter of the Rose Revolution in Georgia. In February 2004 she founded the National Movement - Democrats (NMD) with the EMDP and won the parliamentary elections on March 28, 2004. Since then, she has been represented by five members of the Georgian parliament and in the Georgian government from February 2004 to July 2006 the Minister of State for Conflict Resolution, Giorgi Chaindrawa .

Opposition to Saakashvili

After the change of power in Adjara , conflicts arose with Saakashvili over the development of democracy and federalism in Georgia. The Republican Party entered the regional elections in Ajaria on June 20, 2004 with its own electoral list and won three seats in parliament. Immediately afterwards, they accused the NMD of electoral fraud and left the joint party. The party members in the Georgian parliament joined the opposition faction Democratic Front .

In November 2007, the party joined with the Conservative Party , the Georgian Way Party , the Freedom Movement (Tavisupleba) , Our Own Way , the People's Party , the Movement for a United Georgia , the Georgian Troop Party and the National Forum Party to form the United National Council together, which nominated Levan Gatchetschiladze as a presidential candidate on November 12th . She ran for the Georgian parliamentary elections in May 2008 with her own list, but with 3.8% she failed to pass the 5% hurdle.

In August 2008, the republicans blamed Saakashvili for setting up war with Russia in South Ossetia and have since called for his resignation.

In December 2008 she formed a political alliance with the Neoconservative Party (New Rights Party). The aim of this alliance is to force President Saakashvili to resign using constitutional means (referendum) and to schedule new elections.

program

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The headquarters of the Republican Party in central Tbilisi.

The Republican Party can be classified more as a (liberal-conservative) center-right party, but it strongly opposes “ultra-nationalist” positions in Georgian politics and advocates the strengthening of human rights.

The Republican Party advocates the systematic implementation of representative democracy and orientates itself on the Western European model of the parliamentary republic as a suitable form for the state structure in Georgia, whereby the constitution has to curtail the power of the president and guarantee the independence of the courts.

The core of the republican ideas include strong self-government and decentralization of state power (necessary national level, sufficient regional levels, strong municipal levels). As part of the asymmetrical regionalization, the local ethnic groups and various ethnic minorities are to be granted cultural autonomy.

In foreign policy, the Republicans represent Georgia’s strong ties to the West. They advocate close partnership with the USA and demand that it join NATO as quickly as possible. The Republicans support the neighborhood policy with the EU, as well as with Ukraine and Turkey in the Black Sea region. Towards Russia, they take a tough line of critical dialogue in the interests of further democratization of both countries and peaceful resolution of the regional conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The party advocates a different approach to the separatist-controlled regions of Abkhazia and "South Ossetia", as the two cases are different. In general, however, Georgia should pursue a policy of opening up and, for its part, remove all barriers for business people, aid organizations and civil contacts.

The Republican Party advocates the systematic implementation of a free market economy (less bureaucracy; low taxes; protection of private property and assets; market-oriented social benefits; private education).

International Relations

  • Since November 2006 - Observer status with the Liberal International
  • Since November 2007 - full membership in the ELDR (European Liberal Democrats & Reform Party)

literature

  • Ghia Nodia, Álvaro Pinto Scholtbach: The Political Landscape of Georgia. Political Parties: Achievements, Challenges and Prospects. Eburon, Delft (Netherlands) 2006, ISBN 90-5972-113-6

Web links

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  1. ↑ Nodia, Pinto Scholtbach: The Political Landscape of Georgia. 2006, p. 123.
  2. ↑ [1]  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 168 kB) Party's proposal paper on the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / republicans.ge  
  3. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated February 1, 2009 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. List of LI regarding "Observer Members" @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.liberal-international.org
  4. ↑ [2] interactive graphic about members of the ELDR