Campaign Beat: August 20 – September 2

The pre-election period has formally started, with Tbilisi City Court and the Court of Appeals upholding controversial changes to the election rules. While the ruling party, seeking a constitutional majority, promises revenge and threatens opponents, the opposition is touring the regions, vowing to return the country to its Euro-Atlantic path. Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry is beginning to monitor organizations under the Foreign Agents Law, with many at risk of being declared “agents” and facing heavy fines as the elections approach. With a lot at stake, Georgia heads toward a crucial election date: October 26.

The following covers election-related updates spanning August 20 – September 2

Election Environment

Election Campaign Formally Launched: On August 27, President Salome Zurabishvili announced the formal start of the pre-election campaign, which means that a number of legal restrictions are now in effect. Zurabishvili spoke of the “existential” importance of the elections, in which citizens will decide between “Europe and Russia.”

CEC Holds Public Campaign on Electronic Voting Technologies: From August 21 to 27, the CEC conducted a nationwide information campaign to raise public awareness of new electronic voting technologies, inform citizens about them, and conduct a demo voting process. According to the CEC, during the campaign, meetings were held in 31 locations with the participation of up to 4000 citizens. The CEC says that the information campaign on electronic voting technologies started a year and a half before the elections and has already involved more than half a million citizens.

Court Upholds CEC’s Controversial New Rule… First, the Tbilisi City Court and then the Tbilisi Court of Appeals upheld the Central Election Commission’s (CEC) controversial new rule that allows precinct chairpersons to distribute functions among commission members one week before the election, rather than on election day as was previously the case. This change has raised concerns about potential election fraud, as the security services may influence members of precinct commissions with key roles, prompting the opposition coalition Strong Georgia to file a lawsuit challenging the rule…in vain.

…Meanwhile, CEC Vows to be Ethical and Neutral: Promising to raise the standards of impartiality and political neutrality of all its staff, the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced that “shortly after” the election date is set, the members of the lower levels of the election commissions, as the latter are staffed, will sign the Ethics Code, promising to be “ethical and neutral.” The members of the CEC have already signed the Ethics Code. The members of the municipal and district election commissions will do so after their final staffing.

Registration of Political Parties with the Central Election Commission Completed: According to the CEC, 27 parties have registered to participate in the elections. The parties now have until September 26 to submit the party lists of candidates to be nominated as MPs.

Anti-Corruption Bureau Demands Transparency from Opposition: On August 27, the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau presented the results of financial monitoring of political parties and asked them to submit their financial statements for the first eight months of the year. He called on IRI and NDI to disclose information about the grants they had given to Georgian organizations. The Bureau also asked the members of the “Freedom Square” movement to disclose all financial reports. According to the Bureau, the main opposition parties in Georgia “do not disclose or incompletely disclose” the financial donations that they receive.

476 CSOs Register by Foreign Agents Law Deadline While the Constitutional Court’s Decision on Suspending The Law Is Pending: On September 3, the Public Registry, which operates under the Ministry of Justice, began checking the authenticity of the documents of the organizations, which chose to register as entities “pursuing the interests of a foreign power.” It is estimated that close two percent of organizations, officially registered as CSOs have done so. The Public Registry will “forcibly” register the others who have not registered and impose heavy fines on them for disobedience. President Zurabishvili, civil society and media organizations, opposition MPs and journalists have tried their last chance by challenging the law in the Constitutional Court and fighting for its temporary suspension pending a final ruling. Now everyone awaits the Constitutional Court’s decision on whether to temporarily suspend the law’s practical implementation, but given the GD loyalists in the court, such a decision is less expected.  

…Meanwhile, Municipalities Are Losing Western-Funded Projects: The mayor of Tsalenjikha, the only Georgian town with an opposition representative as Mayor, revealed a document showing that the EU-funded Creative Compass project had been suspended in his municipality. He claimed that the project had been suspended in other municipalities as well, but that their mayors have been hiding this information.

Parliament’s Fall Session Begins: On September 3, the tenth convocation of the Georgian Parliament began its final fall session. In the run-up to the elections, the Parliament is considering several controversial bills, including the anti-LGBT “Protection of Family Values and Minors” bill, which has already been approved at the second hearing of the Legal Committee. The final passage of the amnesty bill, which was approved at the first hearing in July, is also expected to be completed.

Campaign Trail

Ruling Party Seeks Constitutional Majority, Finalizes Four Key Campaign Pillars: The ruling Georgian Dream party tells its supporters that it needs not just a mere win, but a grand victory by obtaining a constitutional majority in the elections, i.e. 113 out of 150 seats in the Parliament, in order to achieve the goals that as formulated by GD are: 1. banning the opposition, i.e. the “collective UNM”; 2. cracking down on “LGBT propaganda” (by adopting the Constitutional Law “on the Protection of Family Values and Minors”); 3. preparing a constitutional basis for the restoration of the territorial integrity of Georgia; 4. strengthening the role of Orthodox Church in the Constitution. The GD kept the latter secret for some time, until the Patriarchate revealed that the ruling party had promised to declare the Orthodox Church the state religion, a proposal the Church rejected, fearing the increase of state influence over it. The GD trying to correct the blunder, now vows to strengthen the role of the Church in the Constitution without elaborating what constitutional provision it envisions. The current Constitution already notes the “special historical role” of Orthodox Christianity for Georgia, and the separate Constitutional Law grants it a number of privileges. It’s unclear at the moment what exactly the GD is promising the Church. On August 21, members and leaders of the ruling party, led by the party’s Honorary Chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili, began campaigning across Georgia, hammering home the above messages.

GD Designates Eight Delegates to Tbilisi: On August 23, PM Irakli Kobakhidze designated eight delegates to the different districts of the capital Tbilisi, three of them from sports: one a former judoka, another the coach of the national swimming team, yet another the vice-president of the national football federation. With the 22 delegates presented two weeks ago, the GD now has 30 delegates; none of them are women. 

“Delegates” are people the party can nominate to represent registered voters in a given district under changes to the electoral law adopted months ago, which the opposition says, despite the new system of the first fully proportional elections on October 29, is an attempt by the ruling party to retain elements of the abolished majoritarian system that traditionally heavily favored the ruling party in the past.

UNM Brings Back Old Member: On August 20, Khatia Dekanoidze, who had left the UNM in 2023, returned to the party and the platform it leads, Unity – to Save Georgia, assuming the role of deputy chair of the party’s National Committee, an initiative of imprisoned ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili. “Every politician must rise above any egocentrism…because the country is under serious threat…the main focus now is the fight against Bidzina Ivanishvili,” Dekanoidze said upon her return to the party. She said that consultations on her comeback had been held, among others, with Mikheil Saakashvili. In 2023, Dekanoidze left the UNM after Levan Khabeishvili’s appointment as the party’s chair, alleging that former Georgian Prime Minister and Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili had interfered in the party’s internal affairs. 

Independent MP Joins Gakharia’s For Georgia: On August 29, Teona Akubardia, an independent MP, joined ex-PM Giorgi Gakharia’s now-opposition For Georgia party. Teona Akubardia explained her decision to join the party by saying that she considers Bidzina Ivanishvili’s defeat impossible without Giorgi Gakharia’s active involvement in this struggle, and praising her parliamentary experience with him, emphasizing their shared values of “integrity, moderation and consistency”.

Freedom Square Welcomes New Members: On August 22, the Freedom Square political movement, a unit of the Strong Georgia platform, welcomed seven new members, professionals in various fields and all new to politics, according to its leader Levan Tsutskiridze. 

Unity-National Movement Leaders Attend U.S. Democratic National Convention: UNM Chair Tina Bokuchava and Strategy Aghmashenebeli Chair Giorgi Vashadze attended the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago from August 19 to 22, where Vice-President Kamala Harris was officially nominated as the Democratic candidate for President of the United States. During the grand event, Bokuchava and Vashadze spoke to Democratic congressmen and senators. UNM leader Tina Bokuchava had also attended the Republican National Convention weeks earlier.

“Us” Political party: On August 23, anti-occupation movement leader Davit Katsarava’s newborn political party, Chven (which means “us” in Georgian), launched its pre-election campaign. Katsarava introduced key party members, including lawyer Mikheil Ramishvili. Davit Katsarava claimed support from swing voters looking for fresh political options, but said he wouldn’t target opposition voters. His party will appear on the ballot under number 23 (the number officially registered for the Free Choice-New Alternative party). Katsarava also said that he had advocated uniting all opposition forces under a single list, although this attempt failed. He hinted that he might run independently rather than join any existing coalitions.

Girchi’s Promises: Girchi party continues to make election promises on its official Facebook page. The following are from the last two weeks: allowing citizens to own the full depth of the land plots, so that if someone finds rich minerals or treasure on their private land, the government will not take them away; allowing citizens to take down the drones on their private property, claiming that current police drones are tracking them; a nationwide privatization plan in which the party promises to distribute state property “equally” and ” for free” to all citizens. 

Overall, the party still communicates with its voters through online media, with daily podcasts on Facebook and YouTube shows.

Regional Tours, New Offices…

Georgian Dream: On August 21, the ruling party officially began its pre-election campaign visits to the regions, spreading the messages about banning the opposition, cracking down on LGBT people, preparing the ground for restoring Georgia’s territorial integrity, and strengthening the role of the church, for which it seeks a constitutional majority. At the rallies of party supporters, with heavy police presence, five GD strongmen address the crowds: MP Mamuka Mdinaradze, Party Chairman Irakli Garibashvili, Secretary General Kakha Kaladze, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, followed by Honorary Chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose addresses people from behind bulletproof glass, urging them to go to the polls and vote for the GD so that it can gain a constitutional majority. Such rallies have so far been held in the towns of Mtskheta, Ambrolauri and Ozurgeti. Beyond promises of revenge, peace, and family purity, the ruling party makes no mention of social or economic reforms. Besides, the party gives concerts in the regions where some Georgian singers perform and openly endorse the ruling party. Such concerts were held in the towns of Dusheti, Kareli, Kaspi, Oni, etc.

Coalition for Change (Ahali, Girchi-More Freedom, Droa, Republican Party, Activists for Future): The Coalition held meetings with supporters and has opened offices in regions all over Georgia, currently 37 in total, including 21 new offices opened in the last two weeks in Khobi, Poti, Tsalenjikha, Chkhorotskhu, Zugdidi, Lanchkhuti, Chokhatauri, Ozurgeti, Khelvachauri, Kobuleti, Ninotsminda, Akhalkalaki, Aspindza, Adigeni, Akhaltsikhe, Mtskheta, Lagodekhi, Sighnaghi, Gurjaani, Abasha, Senaki. The coalition stated that the cases of “attacks and vandalism” have occurred during this process, saying “such actions are only an expression of weakness and fear.”

Strong Georgia (Lelo For Georgia, For People, Citizens, Freedom Square): The platform’s leaders, members and its youth continue to tour the country, holding meetings in the last two weeks in Tianeti, Bakuriani, Gori, Kareli, Khashuri, Marneuli and its surrounding villages mostly populated by ethnic minorities, as well as in the Tbilisi districts of Saburtalo, Chugureti, to inform the citizens about its goals and priorities. The platform also traveled to the Adjara and Guria regions, visiting residents in towns and villages throughout these areas. The new offices were opened in the towns of Gori, Marneuli, a town in Kvemo Kartli region populated with mostly ethnic minorities, and its surrounding villages. 

Unity – National Movement (UNM, Strategy Agmashenebeli, European Georgia): The coalition continues its nationwide regional tour, during which a large rally in the coastal city of Batumi. The coalition also met with locals in the village of Darcheli (Samegrelo region), where it opened a new office. 

Gakharia For Georgia: In the past two weeks, the For Georgia party of former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has reported only one regional meeting in the town of Gori.

Also Read:

• 20/08/2024 – Campaign Beat: August 6-19