Campaign Beat: April 16-30

Ongoing mass rallies against the Foreign Agents Bill have been countered by Georgian Dream’s attempt to take its campaign to the grassroots and forge closer ties with its voters. Recent developments include public debates on the anti-LGBTQ+ constitutional amendments in several Georgian regions, rallies against the Foreign Agents’ law, and a counter-rally organized by Georgian Dream featuring Bidzina Ivanishvili, the party’s founder and Honorary Chairman.

The following covers election-related updates spanning March 18-29

Election Environment

CEC Chairman Elected: On April 30, the Georgian parliament elected Giorgi Kalandarishvili as Chair of the Central Election Commission (CEC) with 85 votes in favor and 16 against. Parliament also elected three members of the CEC: Maia Zaridze, Giorgi Sharabidze and Gia Tsatsashvili.

President’s Vetoes Abolition of Quotas for Women MPs: Georgian President Zurabishvili vetoed amendments to Georgia’s Electoral Code that abolish gender quotas for female MPs, citing concerns about Georgia’s European integration. The President’s administration emphasized its commitment to veto any law that contradicts this path, as gender quotas are part of the European Commission’s 12-point plan. The parliamentary majority is expected to override the President’s veto, as it has done in previous cases.

Non-Stop Rallies Against Agents Bill: Non-stop rallies have been going on against the draft law “on agents of foreign influence,” the largest one on April 28, which united tens of thousands (by one estimate a hundred thousand). Opposition parties Girchi More Freedom, Droa, Ahali, UNM, Republican Party, Strategy Aghmashenebeli, and Lelo have jointly declared support for civil society organizations and called on citizens to take part in the protest rallies.

GD’s Counter-Rally: On April 29, the Georgian Dream party held a counter-rally on Rustaveli Avenue. Participants, many of whom are reportedly public sector employees from various provinces of Georgia, were bused to Tbilisi by the ruling party. Georgian Dream leaders spoke, and Bidzina Ivanishvili made a rare public appearance with a major campaign speech laced with conspiracy theories, as well as ultra-conservative and sovereignist rhetoric. He railed against the West and CSOs as “people who want to enslave and oppress this country.” He also promised “punishment” to the “collective UNM” after winning the Parliamentary elections.

…Amid Reports of Forced Attendance at the Counter-Rally: There have been multiple reports of the ruling party allegedly intimidating, coercing, or paying off people in the regions to make them attend the event. Some media had called the coordinators who prepared the lists of the participants and asked how much they were paid, to which they replied with different amounts. Some messages were leaked from high-level officials mobilizing people; in schools, religious, educational centers, and the Ministries, banners were clearly seen offering transportation to the rally. Notably, when interviewed, many attending the rally didn’t fully understand what they were protesting.

Mdinaradze Explains It All: Mamuka Mdinaradze, the leader of the GD parliamentary majority, held a briefing the day before the counter-rally and confirmed the financing of transport and food for the demonstrators traveling to Tbilisi from the regions. He announced the march of the youth wing of the GD and Bidzina Ivanishvili’s address to the people. Mdinaradze also criticized the media for “harassing” regional representatives and civil servants, calling on civil servants not to participate in the rally if they don’t want to. He also once again defended the agents’ law, saying that transparency cannot be anti-European or Russian and that the European Parliament’s resolution on Georgia has no value because it “forbids” banning “LGBTQ+ propaganda.”

Police Brutality During Rallies: Aleko Elisashvili of the Citizens Party was one of the victims of brutal reprisals by Vazha Siradze (Director of the Patrol Police Department of the MIA), supervised by Anzor Chubinidze (Head of the Special State Protection Service of Georgia). The MP recalls that Siradze personally gave the order to beat him, after which he was thrown to the ground in front of the Chancellery, and several policemen kicked him with batons. Elisashvili wasn’t the only victim of police brutality: according to monitoring by the Democracy Research Institute (DRI), twelve of the 13 demonstrators detained by police during the April 16-17 protests were “severely beaten.” Alexi (Buka) Petriashvili, former State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration in 2012-2014 in the ruling Georgian Dream government, was detained by police during the protest rally against the Foreign Agents law on April 28.

Detentions and Fines: One of the leaders of “Lelo – For Georgia”, Irakli Kupradze was detained during April 17 protests. He was fined GEL 2500 on April 24. Kupradze’s arrest was recorded by the cameras of several TV channels, and it is clearly visible that he had his hands in the air and did not resist the police. Another opposition member, Gela Khasaia from “Girchi – More Freedom” was fined GEL 2,600 on April 24, despite eyewitness accounts and video footage proving that he did nothing illegal during the protests.

Campaign Trail

Georgian Dream:

Amendments to the Tax Code: On April 19, the Georgian Parliament rushed through the third and final reading of amendments to Georgia’s Tax Code that make transferring assets from tax havens to the country easier. The opposition voiced concern that the country’s tax code was amended to shield the ruling Georgian Dream party, particularly its founder and honorary chair, Bidzina Ivanishvili, from possible international sanctions.

Anti-Liberal Messages in Budapest: Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze lashed out at “so-called liberals” and accused them of threatening Christianity, national identity, and state sovereignty while warning of the threats posed by LGBT “propaganda” and “uncontrolled migration” during his address at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest on April 25.

Infrastructural Pledges: At the April 22 Government meeting, PM Kobakhidze announced plans to build a new terminal at Mestia Airport and a new 70,000-seat stadium in Tbilisi. Kobakhidze stated that the new terminal will provide improved facilities and services to enhance the visitor experience and support regional connectivity. As for the stadium, the Prime Minister said it will be designed to host top sporting events, including potential Champions League finals in 2028.

New Roads and Tunnels: Cutting of the new Kvesheti-Kobi road tunnel, the longest tunnel in Georgia (9 km), was completed on April 23. At the opening ceremony, PM Kobakhidze said the project was economically and socially significant, as it ensured that 10 villages around the road wouldn’t be cut off from the rest of the region during winter snowstorms. Another road, the 9 km long part of the Rikoti highway (bypassing Zestafoni), which is part of the East-West Highway (E-60) of the Trans-European Network passing through Georgia, was opened on April 26 and is part of the Middle Corridor project.

Discussions on discriminatory law: On April 22, GD members led by Shalva Papuashvili and Mamuka Mdinaradze started touring different cities of Georgia to discuss the proposed anti-LGBTQ+ Constitutional amendments. The meetings, which have already taken place in Kutaisi, Ambrolauri, Ozurgeti, Batumi, Zugdidi and Mestia, are heavily influenced by the GD narrative of fighting LGBTQ+ propaganda and saving the “traditional family”. Some of the meetings were not broadcast, but those that were shed light on how identical the audience’s questions were, raising suspicions that the audience members were brought in and instructed by GD itself.

Sports and politics: The “Kartu” Foundation announced on April 23 a significant incentive for the success of the Georgian national football team in the European Championship. They will award the team with 30 million GEL for successfully advancing from the subgroup, with an additional 30 million GEL for each subsequent/future victories in the following matches.

Opposition:

“Ahali” in the European Parliament: On April 23, the Co-Chair of the Ahali party, Nika Gvaramia held a press conference at the European Parliament with MEPs, discussing the re-introduced Foreign Agents bill and effects on Georgia’s EU integration.

“European Georgia’s” Movies Screenings: On the initiative of the opposition party European Georgia, with the help of its international partners, screenings of the film “Forgotten Victims: Before Bucha Was Abkhazia” were held at the United States Congress, the American Enterprise Institute and the Ukrainian House in Washington. The event explored the historical context leading up to the Bucha massacre. It included discussions on the genocide of Georgians in Abkhazia, Russia’s involvement in the atrocities, and the resulting political crisis in Georgia due to Russian law.

“Girchi – More Freedom” at Liberty Con: Girchi – More Freedom took center stage at Liberty Con, Europe’s leading pro-liberty event organized by Georgian Students For Liberty. As speakers, party leaders shared their insights on promoting open societies and advancing democratic principles and on the challenges to liberalism globally and in Georgia.

Girchi-More Freedom and Droa’s Innitiatives: The parties held a public discussion in Tbilisi against the Foreign Agents bill, talking about the negative impact the bill will have on Georgia if passed. In addition, following the violent dispersal of individual peaceful protesters (including journalists) by the law enforcers, in which the leading role was played by the Special Tasks Department and its chief Zviad Kharazishvili (a.k.a. Khareba), he and the representatives of the Department, who were documented to take part in the violence against protesters were included in the public Mona.ge list.

UNM Against the Bill: UNM held public discussions and a march against the Foreign Agents Bill in Kutaisi, Zugdidi and Batumi under the slogan “No to Russian Law, Yes to Europe”. Commenting on the discussions in Kutaisi, Khabeishvili said that the law is the government’s attempt to move Georgia further away from the EU and that these discussions are being held in major cities of Georgia to tell people exactly why this law is Russian and why it threatens Georgia’s European future.

“For Georgia’s” Allegations: The party of ex-Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia claimed that the UNM has begun “open cooperation” with the GD. Allegations surfaced that For Georgia member and Rustavi City Council Chairman Nodar Sherozia was removed from his post with the support of 18 council members and that Sherozia’s removal was orchestrated by a political deal between Georgian Dream and the UNM, raising concerns of a power grab. The party also warned of a similar attempt in Zugdidi.

Abolishing “Georgian Idea”: On April 26, Zurab Makharadze, the leader of the pro-Russian, anti-liberal “Conservative Movement/Alt-info” party, reported that the National Agency of Public Registration of Georgia (NAPR) started the procedure to abolish Georgian Idea. This defunct party was “gifted” to Alt-Info by its Chairman after NAPR cancelled Alt-Info’s initial registration as a political party.

Also Read:

• 16/04/2024 – Campaign Beat: March 30-April 15
• 01/04/2024 – Campaign Beat: March 18-29