Georgian presidential election, 2013

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Georgian presidential election, 2013

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  Giorgi Margvelashvili cropped.jpg David Bakradze.jpg Nino Burjanadze (Tbilisi, December 5, 2003).jpg
Nominee Giorgi Margvelashvili David Bakradze Nino Burjanadze
Party Georgian Dream ENM DM–UG
Popular vote1,012,569354,103166,061
Percentage62.12%21.72%10.19%
President before election

Mikheil Saakashvili
ENM

Elected President

Giorgi Margvelashvili
Georgian Dream

Georgia
Greater coat of arms of Georgia.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Georgia

Presidential elections were held in Georgia on 27 October 2013, [1] 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. [2] Saakashvili was constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term.

Georgia (country) Country in the Caucasus region

Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital and largest city is Tbilisi. Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres (26,911 sq mi), and its 2017 population is about 3.718 million. Georgia is a unitary semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy.

Elections in Georgia (country) elections in the country Georgia

Elections in Georgia gives information on elections and election results in Georgia. An election is a process in which a vote is held to elect candidates to an office. It is the mechanism by which a democracy fills elective offices in the legislature, and sometimes the executive and judiciary, and in which electorates choose local government officials.

Soviet Union 1922–1991 country in Europe and Asia

The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. Nominally a union of multiple national Soviet republics, its government and economy were highly centralized. The country was a one-party state, governed by the Communist Party with Moscow as its capital in its largest republic, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Other major urban centres were Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Alma-Ata, and Novosibirsk. It spanned over 10,000 kilometres east to west across 11 time zones, and over 7,200 kilometres north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra, taiga, steppes, desert and mountains.

Contents

The elections were held under a two-round system. Giorgi Margvelashvili was elected with a majority of votes in the first round. [3] [4]

Two-round system voting system used to elect a single winner where a second round of voting is used if no candidate wins an absolute majority in the first round

The two-round system is a voting method used to elect a single winner, where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate. However, if no candidate receives the required number of votes, then those candidates having less than a certain proportion of the votes, or all but the two candidates receiving the most votes, are eliminated, and a second round of voting is held.

Giorgi Margvelashvili Georgian statesman

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.

Background

The previous presidential elections were held on 5 January 2008 in a polarised political environment following the November 2007 crisis, in response to which President Mikheil Saakashvili, then serving his first term in office, brought forward the elections from the original date in autumn 2008. Saakashvili won the election with 53.47% of the votes in an election described in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) election observation mission report as "the first genuinely competitive post-independence presidential election", which "was in essence consistent with most OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections". At the same time, the mission "revealed significant challenges which need to be addressed urgently." [5]

2007 Georgian demonstrations

In 2007, a series of anti-government protests took place across Georgia. The demonstrations peaked on 2 November 2007, when 50,000–100,000 rallied in downtown Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. People protested against the allegedly corrupt government of president Mikheil Saakashvili. Protests triggered by detention of Georgian politician Irakli Okruashvili on charges of extortion, money laundering, and abuse of office during his tenure as defense minister of the country were organized by the National Council, an ad-hoc coalition of ten opposition parties, and financed by the media tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili. Demonstrations occurred both in September and November 2007 and were initially largely peaceful. The protests went downhill by 6 November 2007, but turned violent the next day when the police, using heavy-handed tactics, including tear gas and water cannon, unblocked Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi's main boulevard, dislodged the protesters from the territory adjoining to the House of Parliament, and prevented the demonstrators from resuming the protests. The government accused the Russian secret services of being involved in an attempted coup d'état and declared a nationwide state of emergency later that day which lasted until late 16 November 2007.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe security-oriented intergovernmental organization

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, promotion of human rights, freedom of the press, and fair elections. It employs around 3,460 people, mostly in its field operations but also in its secretariat in Vienna, Austria and its institutions. It has its origins in the 1975 Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki, Finland.

In the October 2012 parliamentary elections, the former ruling party United National Movement (ENM) lost power to the Georgian Dream coalition led by Bidzina Ivanishvili, who became the new Prime Minister.

United National Movement (Georgia) political party

United National Movement is the opposition political party in the nation of Georgia.

Georgian Dream political party

Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia is the governing party of Georgia. The party was established on 19 April 2012 by the billionaire businessman and politician Bidzina Ivanishvili. It is the leading party of the six-party Georgian Dream political coalition which won the 2012 parliamentary election. The political party Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia currently has 115 seats in the 150-seat Georgian parliament.

Upon the inauguration of a new president in 2013, a series of constitutional amendments passed in the Parliament of Georgia from 2010 to 2013 entered into force. The amendments envisaged significant reduction of the president's powers in favour of the Prime Minister. [6]

Constitution of Georgia (country)

The Constitution of Georgia is the supreme law of Georgia. It was approved by the Parliament of Georgia on 24 August 1995 and entered into force on 17 October 1995. The Constitution replaced the Decree on State Power of November 1992 which had functioned as an interim basic law following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Parliament of Georgia parliament

The Parliament of Georgia the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members; of these, 77 are proportional representatives and 73 are elected through single-member district plurality system, representing their constituencies. According to the 2017 constitutional amendments, the Parliament will transfer to fully proportional representation in 2024.

Prime Minister of Georgia

The Prime Minister of Georgia is the head of government and chief executive of Georgia. The Prime Minister organizes, directs, and controls the functions of the Government and signs the legal acts of the government. They appoint and dismiss ministers in the government. The Prime Minister represents Georgia in foreign relations and concludes international treaties on behalf of Georgia. They are accountable for the activities of the Government before the Parliament of Georgia.

Candidates

The Georgian Dream coalition named Giorgi Margvelashvili, minister of education and science and deputy prime minister, as their presidential candidate on 11 May. [7]

The candidates for the ENM presidential primaries, announced in June 2013, were former parliamentary speaker David Bakradze, veteran lawmaker and former cabinet minister Giorgi Baramidze, Shota Malashkhia and Zurab Japaridze. [8] All the primaries were won by Bakradze who was announced the presidential candidate. [9]

On 12 June, Nino Burjanadze announced that she would run for president as the nominee of Democratic Movement – United Georgia. [10]

In total, 23 candidates contested the election. [11]

Opinion polls

Opinion polls in the run-up to the election showed Margvelashvili to be the frontrunner. Polls varied between showing over 50% support for Margvelashvili and figures indicating the election would go to a second round. [12] [13] [14]

Results

The result of the election was a clear first-round majority for Margvelashvili with 62% of the vote. Bakradze, his nearest rival, polled 22%. [4] Burjanadze came third, with 10% of the vote. No other candidate received more than 3% of the vote. [11] The inauguration of Margvelashvili was on 17 November. [15]

The election saw 47% of eligible voters cast a ballot; this is lower than the 2012 parliamentary election, which saw 61% vote, and the 2008 presidential election, where 54% of voters participated. [16]

CandidateNominating partyVotes%
Giorgi Margvelashvili Georgian Dream–Democratic Georgia 1,012,56962.12
Davit Bakradze United National Movement 354,10321.72
Nino Burjanadze Democratic Movement – United Georgia 166,06110.19
Shalva Natelashvili Labour Party 46,9842.88
Giorgi Targamadze Christian-Democratic Movement 17,3541.06
Koba Davitashvili People's Party9,8380.60
Zurab Kharatishvili European Democrats 3,7180.23
Levan ChachuaInitiative group3,0930.19
Nino ChanishviliInitiative group2,2760.14
Sergo JavakhidzeMovement for a Fair Georgia2,1070.13
Giorgi LiluashviliInitiative group1,9090.12
Akaki Asatiani Union of Georgian Traditionalists 1,5590.10
Mikheil SaluashviliInitiative group1,3760.08
Teimuraz MzhaviaChristian Democratic People's Party1,2850.08
Mamuka MelikishviliInitiative group9950.06
Giorgi ChikhladzeInitiative group8200.05
Nestan KirtadzeInitiative group7620.05
Tamaz BibiluriInitiative group6870.04
Nugzar AvalianiInitiative group6640.04
Avtandil MargianiInitiative group6270.04
Kartlos GharibashviliInitiative group5300.03
Teimuraz BobokhidzeInitiative group3560.02
Mamuka ChokhonelidzeInitiative group3150.02
Invalid/blank votes30,988–
Total1,660,976100
Registered voters/turnout3,537,71946.95
Source: CEC

Reactions

Margvelashvili is an ally of Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, and the result was considered to be a consolidation of Ivanishvili's power. [4] With his appointee elected to the presidency, Ivanishvili has declared his intention to leave his role as Prime Minister, stating that his goals have been achieved. [17]

The election was declared as "clean" and "transparent" by international observers. [4] The OSCE observer mission preliminary stated that the election was "efficiently administered, transparent and took place in an amicable and constructive environment." [18] However, there were some issues noted by observers. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, a Georgian election observer group, found "significant shortcomings" regarding invalid ID and voter lists in Batumi, filing 45 complaints. Another group, Transparency International, filed 34 complaints. [19]

International responses

Supranational organizations
States

Related Research Articles

Nino Burjanadze Georgian politician

Nino Burjanadze is a Georgian politician and lawyer who served as Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia from November 2001 to June 2008. As the first woman she has served as the acting head of state of Georgia twice; the first time from 23 November 2003 to 25 January 2004 in the wake of Eduard Shevardnadze's resignation during the Rose Revolution, and again from 25 November 2007 to 20 January 2008, when Mikheil Saakashvili stepped down to rerun in the early presidential elections. She withdrew into opposition to Saakashvili as the leader of the Democratic Movement-United Georgia party in 2008. In October 2013, she ran for president in the October 2013 election. She ran against 22 candidates and ended third with 10 percent of the vote.

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References

  1. ↑ Georgia to hold presidential election in late October Xinhua, 2 July 2013
  2. ↑ History of elections, 1990–2010. Central Electoral Commission of Georgia. Retrieved on 27 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "Ally of Georgia's billionaire PM to be president: exit polls". Reuters . 27 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Berry, Lynn (28 October 2013). "International Observers Praise Georgia's Election". Associated Press. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  5. ↑ Georgia. Extraordinary Presidential Election, 5 January 2008. OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report (4 March 2008). Retrieved on 27 November 2011.
  6. ↑ Key Points of Newly Adopted Constitution. Civil Georgia. 15 October 2010.
  7. ↑ Georgian PM names pro-Western ally presidential candidate. Reuters. 11 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Candidates for UNM Presidential Primaries Named". Civil Georgia. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Bakradze Becomes UNM Presidential Candidate". Civil Georgia. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "Burjanadze Runs for President". Civil Georgia . 13 June 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  11. 1 2 "October 27, 2013 Presidential Elections of Georgia". Election Administration of Georgia. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  12. ↑ Poll: GD's Margvelashvili Leads, Followed by UNM's Bakradze. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  13. ↑ "57.6% of respondents support Margvelashvili, 11.8% – Bakradze and 7,1% – Burjanadze". Pirweli. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  14. ↑ "Who becomes President of Georgia?". Rbk. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  15. ↑ Walker, Shaun (28 October 2013). "Georgia elects oligarch PM Bidzina Ivanishvili's candidate as president". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  16. ↑ Corso, Molly (27 October 2013). "Georgia: Low Turnout Overshadows Presidential Election". Eurasianet.org. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  17. ↑ "Georgia PM ally Giorgi Margvelashvili 'wins presidency'". BBC News. 27 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  18. ↑ "Fundamental freedoms respected in well-administered presidential election in Georgia, international observers say". OSCE. 27 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  19. ↑ Civil Georgia (28 October 2013). "Margvelashvili Set for Outright Victory". Civil.ge. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  20. ↑ European Commission (28 October 2013). "Joint Statement by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Štefan Füle on the results of Georgia's presidential election". Europa.eu. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  21. ↑ "Georgian Presidential Election". U.S. State Department. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  22. ↑ Nechepurenko, Ivan (28 October 2013). "With Saakashvili Out, Russia-Georgia Ties Set to Improve, but Slowly". The Moscow Times . Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  23. ↑ "Carl Bildt". Twitter. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
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