Countries at the Crossroads 2006

Country Report - Georgia

Previous | Introduction | Accountability and Public Voice | Civil Liberties | Rule of Law | Anticorruption and Transparency | Author | Notes | Next

Introduction

Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Georgia has made mixed progress in promoting democracy and strengthening the rule of law. The country's first democratically elected president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, was overthrown in a military coup after only a year-and-a-half-long rule. His downfall, largely provoked by his decision to abolish the post of commander of the Georgian National Guard and subordinate several senior officials to the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, came amid accusations by the opposition that his presidency had become overly authoritarian. Gamsakhurdia's successor, Eduard Shevardnadze, was invited by a military council to lead the country as the acting chairman of the state governing council and was elected president in a 1995 vote.

Although Georgia succeeded in holding successful elections in the early and mid-1990s, Georgia's government did not rest on a strong set of democratic institutions; it mainly relied on Shevardnadze's paternalistic relationship with different sectors of society.¹  As a result, the administration became increasingly authoritarian after the growing opposition challenged its rule in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Shevardnadze won the 2000 presidential election by approximately 80 percent of the vote, but the poll was marred by myriad incidents of serious electoral fraud, including group voting, ballot-box stuffing, police presence in polling stations, and a lack of transparency in vote-counting and tabulation. These events, coupled with discontent over ailing economic reforms and a dwindling standard of living, contributed to a significant drop in support for the regime. During that time, the country's civil society became better organized, more active, and increasingly critical of the government's policies.

Hence, it was not a surprise that civil society played an essential role in the events of November 2003--better known as the Rose Revolution--in which the masses flooded the streets to protest the parliamentary elections deemed fraudulent by international and domestic observers. The events prompted Shevardnadze's resignation and brought to power a group of reformers, led by Mikhail Saakashvili and the coalition of the National Movement and the United Democrats. The new leaders consolidated their power after overwhelming electoral victories in January and March 2004, amid tremendous public enthusiasm and high expectations for the future of the country.

After his inauguration, Saakashvili found himself immersed in problems inherited from the old regime. The judicial system was plagued by incompetence, limited impartiality, and a lack of independence. Corruption was omnipresent in every segment of the society including government, the judiciary, law enforcement, utility companies, the educational system, and health institutions. Organized crime influence on politics and the economy was paramount and growing. In addition, Georgia's human rights record was mixed at best, with reports of torture and police brutality in prisons and pre-detention centers.

Amid the challenges, the government did make significant gains in several areas. New anticorruption measures successfully reduced corruption by instituting important laws on conflict of interest, increasing salaries for judges and police, and prosecuting corrupt officials at all levels of government. A crackdown on graft in tax-auditing bodies considerably improved tax collection. Independent units were created to oversee and punish police officers who practiced brutality and torture. These undertakings, however, were offset by some questionable developments, evoking doubts about the administration's commitment to democratic values. For example, changes to the constitution skewed the balance of power in favor of the presidency and weakened the parliament. Moreover, journalists seem to have become less willing to criticize the government due to pressures, and the judiciary became increasingly subject to executive interference.

Georgia's political developments unfolded against a backdrop of wars for independence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Following Georgia's secession from the Soviet Union, the newly elected Georgian authorities, who were facing increasing levels of nationalism from Georgians wishing to establish an ethnic identity for their new state, stripped Abkhazian and South Ossetian minorities of their autonomy. Furthermore, Georgia's institutions at the time were not sufficiently developed to engage the minorities in the process of democratic compromise.²  As a result, a civil war erupted, and both territories declared de facto independence from Georgia.  Since the revolution, Saakashvili has attempted to reintegrate South Ossetia with the rest of the country; however, this effort has been largely unsuccessful and seems to have worsened the situation.

Previous | Introduction | Accountability and Public Voice | Civil Liberties | Rule of Law | Anticorruption and Transparency | Author | Notes | Next