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Thomas de Waal |
(carnegieendowment.org) Georgia’s parliamentary election on October 1 will be its most important since the disputed polls of 2003 which led to the Rose Revolution and the subsequent election of Mikheil Saakashvili as president. The governing party, the United National Movement (UNM), is seeking to win a majority for a third time. The emergence of the Georgian Dream coalition led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili poses the most credible challenge yet to the elite that has governed Georgia for more than eight years.
The election is also being watched closely abroad where it is being seen as a test of how Georgia can manage a competitive election process. Speaking on a visit to the country in June 2012, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told President Saakashvili, “the single best thing Georgia can do to advance your security, your prosperity, your democracy, your international reputation, is to hold free and fair elections that result in a fully democratic transition.” Both the government and opposition are also engaged in a parallel contest for approval in Western capitals, helped by well-known PR firms.
The Georgian parliament has relatively modest powers, but this is also a shadow leadership election. In 2013, when Saakashvili ends his second and final term as Georgia’s president, a new constitution adopted in 2010 immediately takes effect. This transfers most of the executive powers currently held by the president to a newly powerful prime minister, who will form the government. The prime minister will be chosen by parliament, which thus hands important powers to whichever political force obtains a majority in parliament in the October 1 elections.
A new president, to be elected in a separate election in 2013, will remain head of state but have more ceremonial powers and the role of constitutional arbiter.
The Georgian parliament has relatively modest powers, but this is also a shadow leadership election. In 2013, when Saakashvili ends his second and final term as Georgia’s president, a new constitution adopted in 2010 immediately takes effect. This transfers most of the executive powers currently held by the president to a newly powerful prime minister, who will form the government. The prime minister will be chosen by parliament, which thus hands important powers to whichever political force obtains a majority in parliament in the October 1 elections.
A new president, to be elected in a separate election in 2013, will remain head of state but have more ceremonial powers and the role of constitutional arbiter.
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