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Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Georgia in 2024 within 45 days after the inaugural session of the newly elected parliament. [1] Following amendments to the constitution in 2017, this will be the first indirect vote where the president is elected through a 300-member College of Electors rather than a direct vote. [2]
Despite being endorsed by the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party during the 2018 presidential election and subsequently winning it, incumbent president Zourabichvili has distanced herself from the governing party in the following years, which led to the President's inter-institutional conflict with the Second Garibashvili government and the Parliament. In at least two occasions, the Government banned the President from traveling abroad, preventing her from visiting Ukraine, Poland, Germany, and France. [3] In March 2023, the Government announced it would file two lawsuits with the Constitutional Court against the President over her decision to go on an unauthorized visit to Brussels and Paris and over her refusal to sign outright decrees appointing ambassador candidates nominated by the Government, [4] before dismissing the lawsuits several months later. Zourabichvili has increasingly used her veto power against the Parliament, as such, she has vetoed the bill changing the composition of Georgia's National Bank, the bill extending scope and time limits for covert investigations and other bills, [5] most notably the 'foreign agents' bill. [6]
GD tried impeaching President Zourabichvili with no success on 18 October 2023, when the Parliament held a vote but failed to collect 100 votes needed to impeach her. [7]
The president will serve for a term of five years and can serve maximum two terms. The eligibility age for the president increases from 35 to 40. The change applies to residence requirements as well; a presidential candidate has to have lived in Georgia for at least 15 years. However, a candidate is no longer required to have lived in Georgia for the last three years before the election. [2]
The powers of the president have been limited. The president no longer has power to conduct international negotiations with foreign countries. The president will have reduced powers in wartime, as a decision on the use of the defence forces is to be made solely by the prime minister and it will be necessary for the president to obtain the prime minister’s consent to declare martial law or a state of emergency; moreover, the National Defence Council – a consultative body to the president – is to lose its permanent status and will only be convened in times of martial law. [8] Although the President remains the head of state, the commander-in-chief, and representative in foreign relations, the role no longer ensures “the functioning of state bodies within the scope of the powers granted by the Constitution, as well as losing the right “to request particular matters to be discussed at the Government session and participate in the discussion.” [2]
Under a new law passed this year, the Speaker of Parliament, instead of the president, nominates and opens the competition for the election of the CEC Chairman and professional members. Parliament requires a 3/5 majority (90 votes) in the first round to elect candidates. If unsuccessful, a simple majority (76 votes) can be used in the next round, with two attempts allowed. If both attempts fail, the president gains the authority to appoint the CEC chairperson/member. The law also stipulates that CEC members serve a full five-year term, even if elected with a lower quorum. [9]
As a result of the 2017 constitutional reform, the direct election of the president by popular vote was abolished and replaced by a system of indirect election through an 300-member College of Electors, including MPs, local and regional government representatives. The new electoral system is in place for this election and onwards. The president will be elected without prior debate on the Parliament floor through open ballot. [2]
Politics in Georgia involve a parliamentary representative democratic republic with a multi-party system. The President of Georgia is the ceremonial head of state and the Prime Minister of Georgia is the head of government. The Prime Minister and the Government wield executive power. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and the unicameral Parliament of Georgia.
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.
The President of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of state of Germany.
The president of the Republic of Finland is the head of state of Finland. The incumbent president is Alexander Stubb, since 1 March 2024. He was elected president for the first time in 2024.
The president of the Republic of Lithuania is the head of state of the Republic of Lithuania. The president directs and appoints the executive branch of the Government of Lithuania, represents the nation internationally and is the commander-in-chief of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The president is directly elected by the citizens of Lithuania for a five-year term, with the office holder limited to serving two terms consecutively. The current president is Gitanas Nausėda who assumed office on July 12, 2019.
The president of the Republic of Bulgaria is the head of state of Bulgaria and the commander-in-chief of the Bulgarian Army. The official residence of the president is at Boyana Residence, Sofia. After the completion of the second round of voting, candidate Rumen Radev was elected President of Bulgaria on 13 November 2016.
The president of the Republic of Singapore is the head of state of Singapore. The president represents the country in official diplomatic functions and possesses certain executive powers over the Government of Singapore, including the control of the national reserves and the ability to revoke and appoint public service appointments.
The president of Georgia is the ceremonial head of state of Georgia as well as the commander-in-chief of the Defense Forces. The constitution defines the presidential office as "the guarantor of the country's unity and national independence."
The president of the Czech Republic, constitutionally defined as the President of the Republic, is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic.
A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fundamental rights of a minority, but can also hamper efforts to respond to problems and encourage corrupt compromises at times when action is taken. Changes to constitutions, especially those with entrenched clauses, commonly require supermajority support in a legislature. Parliamentary procedure requires that any action of a deliberative assembly that may alter the rights of a minority have a supermajority requirement, such as a two-thirds vote. In consensus democracy the supermajority rule is applied in most cases.
The president of Italy, officially titled President of the Italian Republic, is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity, and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The president is the commander-in-chief of the Italian Armed Forces and chairs the High Council of the Judiciary. The president serves a seven-year term, with no term limits. The incumbent president is former constitutional judge Sergio Mattarella, who was elected on 31 January 2015, and re-elected on 29 January 2022.
Salome Zourabichvili is a French-born Georgian politician and former diplomat, currently serving as the fifth president of Georgia, in office since December 2018. She is the nation’s first female president, a position she will occupy for a term of six years. As a result of constitutional changes coming into effect in 2024, Zourabichvili is expected to be Georgia's last popularly elected president; future heads of state are to be elected indirectly by a parliamentary college of electors.
Presidential elections were held in Georgia on 27 October 2013, the sixth presidential elections since the country's restoration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The last elections in January 2008 resulted in the re-election of Mikheil Saakashvili for his second and final presidential term. Saakashvili was constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term.
Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia (GD), also colloquially known as the Kotsebi, is a populist political party in Georgia. It is currently the ruling party in Georgia. Irakli Garibashvili serves as the party chairman, while the former chairman Irakli Kobakhidze has served as the Prime Minister since February 2024. Bidzina Ivanishvili, widely considered the de facto leading person of the party, serves as its honorary chairman.
State for the People was a liberal political party in Georgia. It was founded by the Georgian operatic bass Paata Burchuladze in 2016 participating in the election held the same year in a bloc of the same name. The coalition failed to cross 5% after which Burchuladze left the party, with Nika Machutadze becoming the chairman.
Yes to Europe – Strategy Aghmashenebeli, sometimes translated as Strategy Builder is a centrist pro-Western political party in Georgia. Originally going by the name New Georgia, it was founded in 2016 by Giorgi Vashadze, who along with supporters split from United National Movement.
United National Movement – United Opposition "Strength is in Unity" Faction was a politican coalition and a parliamentary faction in Georgia. It was led by United National Movement, the largest party within the bloc, and additionally included Progress and Freedom and Victorious Georgia parties. It was one of the two factions in the 10th Parliament of Georgia, serving in the opposition to the Georgian Dream government.
Salomé Zourabichvili's tenure as the fifth president of Georgia began with her inauguration on 16 December 2018, and the first presidency since the adoption of a new Constitution transforming Georgia into a parliamentary system in 2018. Zourabichvili's term is set to be the longest term of any presidency in Georgia's history, as the transition into a new Constitution means that her mandate will last until 2024.
Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on 26 October 2024. The elections were held under the rules passed in 2017 through the constitutional amendments which shifted the electoral system towards a fully proportional representation with a 5% electoral threshold. The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party sought to win its fourth term in office. Its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili—an influential oligarch and former prime minister often regarded as the country's éminence grise following his official departure from politics in 2021—returned to politics several months before the polls to lead GD in the elections.
Events in the year 2023 in Georgia.
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| Parliamentary elections | |
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