11 Parties, 4 Blocs Run in Elections for Adjara’s Supreme Council

Supreme Election Commission of Adjara Autonomous Republic has registered 11 political parties and 4 election blocs, which will run in the October 8 election of the Supreme Council, which is local parliament of this region on Georgia’s Black Sea coast.

Election for the 21-member Supreme Council will be held simultaneously with Georgia’s general elections for the Parliament on October 8 in which 19 parties and 6 blocs are running.

Below is the list of parties, which will run in election for Adjara’s local parliament independently without forming an election bloc with other parties:

• Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia (GDDG) – the ruling party founded by billionaire ex-PM Bidzina Ivanishvili;
• United National Movement (UNM) – the largest opposition party;
• Free Democrats – founded and led by Irakli Alasania, who was defense minister in 2012-2014;
• Alliance of Patriots of Georgia;
• Labor Party – led by Shalva Natelashvili;
• Republican Party – led by Davit Usupashvili, who is speaker of the outgoing parliament;
• National Forum – led by MP Gubaz Sanikidze;
• Serve Georgia – the party was launched by former GDDG members, MP Murman Dumbadze and a member of Adjara’s outgoing Supreme Council Medea Vasadze;
• For United Georgia – led by former member of GDDG ruling party, MP Tamaz Mechiauri, who although quit GDDG in late May after criticizing government’s declared policy of NATO integration, according to him, maintains links with ex-PM Bidzina Ivanishvili, who founded GDDG party;
• For Georgia’s Peace – led by Davit Tevzadze, who was defense minister from 1998 to early 2004;
• United Communist Party of Georgia;

Below is the list of 4 election blocs – coalitions of several political parties, which run in the elections on the joint ticket:

• Paata Burchuladze-State for People – an election bloc led by opera singer Paata Burchuladze’s State for People party, which also includes: New Georgia, led by MP Giorgi Vashadze, who quit UNM party in May, 2016; New Rights Party, led by former MP Mamuka Katsitadze, and New Political Center-Girchi, led by MP Zurab Japaridze, who quit UNM party in May, 2015 (formally this latter party is not in the list of parties, which have applied for registration as a bloc to the election commission in Adjara);
• Nino Burjanadze-Democratic Movement – an election bloc formed by former parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze’s United Democratic Movement party with small and little-known Democratic Movement-United Georgia party;
• Industrialists–Our Homeland – an election bloc formed by Industrialists party, led by MP Gogi Topadze, and Our Homeland, party which is led by Zviad Chitishvili, who has businesses in Russia and dual citizenship of Georgia and Russia; one of the pre-election promises of the Our Homeland party is distribution of Russian passports;
• Ours-People’s Party – an election bloc formed by two small, lesser-known parties: Ours and People’s Party;

Like nationwide electoral system, Adjara’s elections are also held under the mixed system – 15 seats in Autonomous Republic’s Supreme Council are allocated proportionally under the party-list contest among the parties and election blocs, which will clear 5% threshold in Adjara.

6 members of the local parliament are elected in the Autonomous Republic’s six single-member districts; a candidate has to win over 50% of votes in order to be an outright winner in the first round, otherwise a second round should be held.