2024–2025 Georgian constitutional crisis

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2024–2025 Georgian constitutional crisis
Salome Zourabichvili in 2024 (cropped).jpg
Mikheil Kavelashvili 2014.jpg
Date26 October 2024 – present (2 months, 1 week and 6 days)
Location
Caused by
MethodsProtests, foreign diplomatic pressure and international sanctions
StatusOngoing
Parties

Flag of Georgia.svg Kobakhidze government

Supported by:

Lead figures

Georgia is undergoing a constitutional crisis due to the disputed legitimacy of the October 2024 Georgian parlimentary election, which was conducted with significant irregularities. [4] The crisis escalated with the unconstitutional self-convening of Parliament, [5] the decision of the ruling party to suspend EU accession negotiations, [6] the election of a new president by the disputed Parliament, [7] and the 29 December 2024 inauguration of Mikheil Kavelashvili by the disputed Parliament. [8]

Protests against the ruling party have continued since the election, with hundreds of protesters arrested, beaten or tortured [9] by police and violent groups, who also attacked journalists. [10] [11] [12] [13]

Background

By 2024, former prime minister and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili was widely seen as the de facto ruler of Georgia, with most Georgian government officials and institutions following his orders, with the exception of President Salome Zourabichvili, who maintained her independent positions. [14] [15] [16] [17] In late December 2024, political scientist Stephen F. Jones stated that Ivanishvili had become "the unaccountable and unchecked ruler" of Georgia. [6]

2024 October parliamentary election

Prior to the October 2024 Georgian parliamentary election, in 2023 and again in April 2024, Georgian Dream (GD) proposed two successive versions of a foreign agent law in relation to non-governmental organisations receiving foreign funding. Both versions were controversial, leading to successive phases of street protests in opposition to the law [18] and significantly weakening popular support for GD. [6]

The October 2024 election was held. Salome Zourabichvili and the four main opposition groups considered the election to be legally invalid [19] because of significant irregularities in the conduct of the election. [4] [20] Mass street protests took place daily following the election, together with police repression.

On 18 December 2024, the Public Defender of Georgia stated that his representatives had visited 327 detainees, among which 225 stated that they had been ill-treated, and 157 had visible signs of physical injuries. Representatives from Transparency International Georgia, Georgian European Orbit and Rule of Law Center stated that Georgian Dream had "planned the systemic torture of peaceful demonstrators", with a "system of torture [planned] in advance". They stated that detainees had been "beaten in the face, head, eye sockets, ribs, [and] kidneys" and that the detainees had been robbed of personal belongings by the security forces. [21]

Opposition media described the resignations of government officials in early December as a "collapse of the system". According to Gocha Beridze, former head of Batumi Coast Guard Marine Safety Department, 49 employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia resigned: Irakli Shaishmelashvili, the head of a department in the Ministry with responsibility for dispersing protests, and four of his deputies; 16 special forces instructors; the head of the psychological training service and twelve of its members; and all 16 water cannon operators. [22] In late December 2024, after leaving Georgia for his and his family's safety, Shaishmelashvili gave an extensive interview. He stated that police violence was systematic and done under orders given by Zviad Kharazishvili  [ fr; ru ], the head of the Special Tasks Department of the Ministry and by Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, who according to Shaishmelashvili are close colleagues of one another. Shaishmelashvili stated that no investigations into police violence were being conducted and that none were planned. [23]

In late December 2024, Zourabichvili announced plans to create a council with broad participation to organise a re-run of the election, [24] [25] as recommended by the European Parliament. [26]

Self-convening of Parliament and EU accession suspension

Following the October election, Zourabichvili refused to convene a session of the Parliament of Georgia with the members elected per the official results of the election. Parliament self-convened, though Zourabichvili and Georgia's top legal and constitutional experts considered the action unconstitutional. [5] [27] [28]

The 28 November announcement by Kobakhidze of suspending EU accession negotiations was widely seen as unconstitutional, with two hundred National Bank of Georgia employees declaring the suspension to be inconsistent with Article 78 of the Constitution. A new round of protests followed the announcement. [6]

Presidential election

Parliament elected a new president of Georgia on 14 December 2024. Zourabichvili considered the election to be invalid. She stated that she would retain her status as president because of the invalidity of the election. [7] Protests continued after the presidential election, including a human chain on 28 December. [29]

On 29 December 2024, Mikheil Kavelashvili was inaugurated as president. Zourabichvili left Orbeliani Palace, which in 2018 she had chosen as her presidential residence instead of Avlabari Presidential Residence, [30] stating that she remained the legitimate President, as the palace is only a symbol. [31] [8] Zourabichvili described the inauguration as a "mockery of democracy" and stated that Georgian Dream was "locked up, scared, corrupt, illegitimate, unrecognized, subject to sanctions". [32]

Civil service resignations and dismissals

In addition to the December 2024 resignations of 49 members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, [22] [23] several civil service employees were dismissed. On 31 December, Central Election Commission (CEC) advisor Vako Maisuradze stated that he and other CEC employees had been fired for criticising GD on online social media. [33] On 3 January 2025, OC Media described the overall pattern of dismissals as "purges of public sector employees critical of the government". [34]

International reactions

On 28 November 2024, the European Parliament, by a majority of 444 in favour, 72 against, and 82 abstentions, declared that it did not recognise the October parliamentary election. [26]

According to the Weimar Triangle (France, Germany, Poland) foreign ministers, the electoral irregularities and the violence against protestors, journalists and opposition politicians constituted democratic backsliding. The ministers stated that they would implement a European Union (EU) decision to end visa-free travel for Georgian officials. [35]

Analysis

Constitutional law

Several of Georgia's top legal and constitutional experts, including Vakhushti Menabde, Vakhtang Khmaladze and Sandro Baramidze, stated that GD's conduct violated the Georgian constitution, as well as parliament's own rules and procedures, and that the resulting parliament or the president elected by such a parliament cannot be considered legitimate. [27] [28] Constitutional scholar Vakhtang Khmaladze, who is one of the authors of Georgia's current constitution and is himself a former member of GD, has described the election of Kavelashvili as "illegitimate". [31] In addition to the issue of fraud during the parliamentary elections and the fact that none of the violations were addressed, Khmaladze stated that the parliament members had illegally approved their mandates when they had no actual authority to do so, because the election results were still pending in court. [28]

Two hundred members of the National Bank of Georgia stated that the suspension of EU accession negotiations was unconstitutional because it opposed Article 78 of the constitution. [6]

Authoritarian overreach point of view

On 3 December 2024, political scientist Stephen F. Jones stated that Ivanishvili had become "the unaccountable and unchecked ruler" of Georgia, and that Ivanishvili's government was "on the brink of collapse". Jones saw GD as having made three main errors of political judgment. In April 2024, GD reintroduced the Foreign agent bill, leading to massive protests by citizens and institutions such as the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe. Jones argued that in October 2024, GD could quite likely "have secured a small parliamentary majority without massively falsifying the elections", but falsified the elections because Ivanishvili wanted a three-quarters majority in order to be able to unilaterally make constitutional changes. This led to a new round of protests, "angrier" from both the citizens' and government's side, according to Jones. The third mistake in Jones' view was the 28 November announcement by Kobakhidze of suspending EU accession negotiations, which he saw as "the fatal error", "enrag[ing] a Georgian populace that for two centuries has believed it is Europe", and leading to a third round of intensified protests. [6]

Jones explained what he saw as GD's strategic errors in terms of Ivanishvili's centralised control not tolerating criticism, with critics typically being "banish[ed] from the inner circle". He viewed GD as losing the support of elites and being "forced by its own errors into a corner", with the only options being either "survival by brutal suppression (already an unlikely scenario), or flight". [6]

Irakli Pavlenishvili of Unity – National Movement predicted on 3 January 2025 that Ivanishvili would not be able to "gather the critical mass that is necessary for even an authoritarian regime to function because ... a very large part of public servants are against establishing a dictatorship". [34]

Pro-Russia versus pro-EU policies

GD is widely seen as supportive of Russia, which invaded Georgia in the 2008 Russo-Georgian war. [29] The party denies being pro-Russia [36] and states that it is pro-European Union (EU). At a meeting of Georgian ambassadors on 29 December, Kavelashvili, Shalva Papuashvili and GD-appointed prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that Georgia was continuing to progress towards membership of the EU. [37] Earlier, on 28 November, Kobakhidze announced that the government would not pursue the opening of EU accession negotiations until late 2028. [38]

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Georgia</span> Head of state of Georgia

The president of Georgia is the ceremonial head of state of Georgia as well as the commander-in-chief of the Defence Forces. The constitution defines the presidential office as "the guarantor of the country's unity and national independence."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikheil Kavelashvili</span> Georgian politician (born 1971)

Mikheil Kavelashvili is a Georgian politician and former professional footballer who was sworn in as the sixth president of Georgia on 29 December 2024. His election was boycotted and disputed by the opposition, as well as by significant parts of the international community. He was the sole candidate on the ballot – the first time in Georgia's history that voters were given only one choice during a presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salome Zourabichvili</span> Georgian politician (born 1952)

Salome Zourabichvili is a French-born Georgian politician, former diplomat and the fifth president of Georgia – the first female president in the country's history. As a result of the constitutional amendments that came into effect in 2024, Zourabichvili became the last popularly elected president; under the new constitutional rules, moving forward Georgian presidents are to be elected indirectly by a parliamentary college of electors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bidzina Ivanishvili</span> Georgian billionaire and politician (born 1956)

Bidzina Ivanishvili, also known as Boris Grigoryevich Ivanishvili, is a Georgian politician and billionaire oligarch who is widely recognized as the de facto ruler of Georgia. He has been sanctioned by the United States and several European Union countries for undermining Georgian democracy and advancing the interests of the Russian Federation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Georgian presidential election</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgian Dream</span> Populist political party in Georgia

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 leader of the party, serves as its honorary chairman. The party's electoral number is 41.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giorgi Margvelashvili</span> 4th President of Georgia (2013–2018)

Giorgi Margvelashvili is a Georgian academic and politician who was the fourth president of Georgia, in office from 17 November 2013 to 16 December 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irakli Kobakhidze</span> Prime Minister of Georgia since 2024

Irakli Kobakhidze is a Georgian politician who holds the position of the 16th prime minister of Georgia since February 2024. He has previously served as a member of the Georgian Parliament from 2016 to 2024, chairman of the Parliament of Georgia from 2016 to 2019, as vice-president of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 2020 to 2022 and held the post of chairman of Georgian Dream party from 2021 to 2024. Prior to joining politics, he was a professor at the Tbilisi State University and also worked for Western-funded non-governmental organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 protests in Georgia (country)</span> 2019 protests in Georgia

The 2019 protests in Georgia, also known as Gavrilov's Night, refers to a series of anti-government and snap election-demanding protests in the country of Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tina Bokuchava</span> Georgian politician

Tinatin "Tina" Bokuchava is a Georgian politician who has served as a member of Parliament since 2012 and as Chair of the United National Movement since June 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Next Georgian parliamentary election</span>

The date of the next Georgian parliamentary election is uncertain, depending on the interpretation of the validity of the 2024 Georgian parliamentary election, which was seen as invalid by Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili and the four main opposition coalitions Unity – National Movement, Coalition for Change, For Georgia, and Strong Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Georgian parliamentary election</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">For the People (Georgia)</span> Georgian political party

For the People is a centre-left political party in Georgia. It was founded in 2021 by the former Deputy Minister of Defence Ana Dolidze and participated in the 2021 local elections. It is currently a part of the Strong Georgia coalition taking part in the 2024 parliamentary election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023–2024 Georgian protests</span> Protests against the "Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence"

In 2023 and 2024, a series of street demonstrations took place throughout Georgia largely in opposition to the proposed "Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence", which would require non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to register as foreign agents or "organizations carrying the interests of a foreign power" and disclose the sources of their income if the funds they receive from abroad amount to more than 20% of their total revenue.

Events in the year 2024 in Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgian Dream (political coalition)</span> 2012–2016 big tent Georgian coalition

Georgian Dream was a catch-all political alliance in Georgia formed around Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia party in opposition to the then-ruling United National Movement (UNM) party. The coalition was formed in 2012 with it winning the parliamentary election held in the same year. The alliance was dissolved in 2016 after which GD – DG went on to win 2016 and 2020 parliamentary elections independently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Georgian presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in Georgia on 14 December 2024. Following amendments to the constitution and Georgia's transition to the parliamentary republic in 2017, which led to the drastic reduction to the presidential powers, this was the first indirect vote where the president was elected through a 300-member College of Electors composed of the parliamentary, local and regional representatives. Ruling party nominated candidate Mikheil Kavelashvili was elected by 224 electoral votes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024–2025 Georgian protests</span>

On 28 October 2024, protests began in Georgia after the preliminary official results were announced of the parliamentary election of 26 October. The ruling Georgian Dream won the majority of seats in parliament according to those results. The demonstrators claimed that the elections were fraudulent, and demanded a recount and a new election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Tasks Department (Georgian police)</span>

The Special Tasks Department is a structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. Since September 2019, the Department has been headed by Zviad Kharazishvili. In 2024, the Department was involved in suspected electoral fraud in the 2024 Georgian parliamentary election and systematic violence against participants of the protests that followed the election and against journalists. Several members of the Department resigned in early December 2024 and international sanctions were invoked against Zviad Kharazishvili.

References

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