Georgia's October 2012 Legislative Election: Outcome and Implications
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Georgia’s October 2012 Legislative Election: Outcome and Implications Jim Nichol Specialist in Russian and Eurasian Affairs October 15, 2012 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R42777 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Georgia’s October 2012 Legislative Election: Outcome and Implications Summary Georgia’s continued sovereignty and independence and its development as a free market democracy have been significant concerns to successive Congresses and Administrations. The United States and Georgia signed a Charter on Strategic Partnership in early 2009 pledging U.S. support for these objectives, and the United States has been Georgia’s largest provider of foreign and security assistance. Most recently, elections for the 150-member Parliament of Georgia on October 1, 2012, have been viewed as substantially free and fair by most observers. Several Members of Congress and the Administration have called for a peaceful transition of political power in Georgia and have vowed continued support for Georgia’s development and independence. In the run-up to the October 2012 election, Georgia’s Central Electoral Commission registered 16 parties and blocs and several thousand candidates to run in mixed party list and single-member constituency races. A new electoral coalition, Georgia Dream—set up by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili—posed the main opposition to President Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement, which held the majority of legislative seats. A video tape of abuse in a prison released by Georgia Dream late in the campaign seemed to be a factor in the loss of voter support for the United National Movement and in the electoral victory of Georgia Dream. According to observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the election freely reflected the will of the people, although a few procedural and other problems were reported. In the days after the election, Saakashvili, Ivanishvili, and other officials from Georgia Dream and the United National Movement have met to plan an orderly transition, including the appointment of a new cabinet. Ivanishvili has pledged that GD will continue to support Georgia’s democratization and anti-corruption efforts, and its European and Euro-Atlantic orientation. The White House has described the election as “another milestone” in Georgia’s development as a democracy, and has called for Ivanishvili and Saakashvili to work together to ensure the country’s continued peaceful transition of power. The Administration also stated that it looked forward to strengthening the U.S.-Georgia partnership. Several Members of Congress observed the election, and several Members of the Senate issued a post-election statement commending President Saakashvili for his efforts to transform Georgia into a prosperous democracy, and pointing to the competitive and peaceful election as evidence of his success. At the same time, they raised concerns about some bickering and unrest in the wake of the election, and cautioned that the future of U.S.-Georgia relations depends on the country’s continued commitment to democratization. Some observers have suggested that relations between the two parties in the legislature and between a Georgia Dream cabinet and the president may well be contentious in coming months, as both sides maneuver before a planned 2013 presidential election. Saakashvili is term-limited and cannot run, but the United National Movement plans to retain the presidency. Under constitutional changes, the legislature is slated to gain greater powers vis-à-vis the presidency, so a divided political situation could endure for some time. In such a case, statesmanship and a commitment to compromise and good governance are essential for Georgia’s continued democratization, these observers stress. Congressional Research Service Georgia’s October 2012 Legislative Election: Outcome and Implications Contents Background...................................................................................................................................... 1 The Campaign.................................................................................................................................. 2 Results and Assessments.................................................................................................................. 3 Implications for Georgia.................................................................................................................. 4 Implications for U.S. Interests ......................................................................................................... 8 Tables Table 1. Election Results ................................................................................................................. 3 Contacts Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 10 Congressional Research Service Georgia’s October 2012 Legislative Election: Outcome and Implications Background Since President Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in late 2003, Georgia has made notable progress in increasing economic and political freedoms and reducing police corruption and crime, according to many observers.1 However, these observers—including international organizations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union (EU), and governments such as the United States—also have viewed this progress as uneven, and have judged Georgia’s legislative and presidential elections in 2008 as promising but falling somewhat short as free and fair contests.2 These observers strongly impressed upon the Georgian government that the conduct of the October 1, 2012, election to the Parliament (also called the Supreme Council) would affect future relations and the country’s hopes for eventually joining the European Union and NATO. The seminal event in the run-up to the October 2012 Bidzina Ivanishvili legislative race was multi-billionaire businessman Born in 1956 in the Georgian village of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s announcement in late 2011 that Chorvila. He studied engineering and he would enter politics in opposition to Saakashvili economics at Tbilisi State University and (See Box). A few days after this announcement, received the equivalent of a doctorate at the Moscow State Institute of Railway Engineering. Saakashvili signed an order revoking Ivanishvili’s In the late 1980s, he began to purchase Georgian citizenship on the grounds that he also held factories, mines, hotels, banks, and other Russian and French citizenship (Ivanishvili businesses and turned them around for resale. subsequently relinquished his Russian citizenship, but In the late 1990s, he left Russia for France. In 2004, he returned to Georgia and engaged in France deferred action on his request to relinquish his philanthropy. French citizenship). With his citizenship revoked, Ivanishvili was barred from running for office. Following domestic and international criticism, several constitutional changes were enacted by Saakashvili’s United National Movement (UNM)-led Parliament and went into force in May 2012. One such change permitted a citizen of an EU country who has lived for five years in Georgia to be elected to high political office. This provision was designed to permit Ivanishvili’s participation in the October 2012 legislative election. However, Ivanishvili proclaimed that he would not run in the election except as a citizen of Georgia. The UNM-controlled legislature passed other provisions in late 2011 barring corporate contributions and limiting corporate employee contributions to political parties. Critics viewed these provisions as attempts to hinder Ivanishvili from financing prospective or existing parties. Instead, state financing of campaigns by existing parties that had won past elections was stepped up, also viewed by critics as a means to constrict any new party created through Ivanishvili’s interests. The State Audit Chamber was given responsibility to monitor campaign spending. 1 For an assessment based on various indicators of economic freedom, ruling justly, and investing in people, see Georgia FY2012: Country Scorecard, Millennium Challenge Corporation, at http://www.mcc.gov/pages/selection/ scorecards. See also “Georgia,” Freedom in the World 2012, Freedom House, 2012. 2 In the January 2008 presidential election, seven candidates were registered, including Saakashvili, who won with 53.5% of nearly 1.9 million votes cast. In the October 2008 legislative election, half of the 150 members were elected by party lists and the rest by constituencies. In the party list voting, 4 out of 12 parties and blocs running passed a 5% vote hurdle and won seats. In total, the ruling United National Movement (UNM; led by Saakashvili) won 119 seats, the United Opposition bloc won 17 seats, the Christian Democrats won 6 seats, and the Labor Party won 6 seats. In addition, the Republican Party won two constituency races. UNM’s 119 seats were more than the 100 required by the constitution to amend it. Congressional Research Service 1 Georgia’s October 2012 Legislative Election: Outcome and Implications Also in late 2011, a new electoral code provided for 77 members of the 150-seat legislature to be elected through proportional voting and the remaining 73 through constituency voting in single member districts, replacing the previous election of 50% of the members by each method. Another provision guaranteed that a party that gained