Source:

02.05.2005 - CIA World Factbook 2005: Political parties - overview ("02.05.2005 - CIA World Factbook 2005") [ID 4690]

"Political parties and leaders:
Burjanadze-Democrats [Nino BURJANADZE]; Georgian People's Front [Nodar NATADZE]; Georgian United Communist Party or UCPG [Panteleimon GIORGADZE]; Greens [Giorgi GACHECHILADZE]; Industry Will Save Georgia (Industrialists) or IWSG [Georgi TOPADZE]; Labor Party [Shalva NATELASHVILI]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Bachuki KARDAVA]; National Movement Democratic Front [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI] bloc composed of National Movement and Burjanadze-Democrats; National Movement [Mikheil SAAKASHVILI]; New Right [David GAMKRELIDZE]; Republican Party [David BERDZENISHVILI]; Rightist Opposition [David GAMKRELIDZE] bloc composed of Industrialists and New Right Party; Socialist Party or SPG [Irakli MINDELI]; Traditionalists [Akaki ASATIANI]; Union of National Forces-Conservatives [Koba DAVITASHVILI and Zviad DZIDZIGURI]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Georgian independent deputies from Abkhaz government in exile; separatists in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia; supporters of the late ousted President Zviad GAMSAKHURDYA"

Document(s): 02.05.2005 - CIA World Factbook 2005

Source:

Georgia: 1) Background information on the Liberal Party; position during parliamentary elections 2004; 2) Persecution of members of the Liberal Party during elections and nowadays; 3) Information on the 28 March 2004 parliamentary elections: electoral campaign, situation of opposition parties during elections and nowadays [ID 4692]

08.04.2008 - Source: Civil Georgia

A total of 15 parties set up 3 separate election blocs to run in May 21 parliamentary elections: Information on political parties and blocs they formed ("Three Blocs, Nine Parties Run in Parliamentary Polls") [ID 22859]

Document(s): Open document

09.2005 - Source: US Department of State

Parliament is dominated by National Democrats and there is no official minority ("Background Note: Georgia") [#33443], [ID 4691]

"As a result of the Rose Revolution, National Movement and the Burjanadze-Democrats emerged as the leading parties in Georgia. The two parties have since united and are now officially called National Democrats. The Parliament is dominated by the National Democrats and no official minority currently exists in parliament. The New Rights party and the Industrialists have united and formed a bloc called the Rightist Opposition with Davit Gamkrelidze as the leader. Koba Davitashvili and Zviad Dzidziguri lead a party named Union of National Forces - Conservatives. David Berdzenishvili leads the Republicans. Department)."

Document(s): Open document

04.08.2003 - Source: Freedom House

Organizational weakness, rather than state repression, is the main problem facing political parties ("Nations in transit 2003") [#15273], [ID 4693]

"Organizational weakness, rather than state repression, is the main problem facing political parties. Parties are usually created as vehicles for personalities or small groups to gain power and lack distinct agendas or
ideologies. As a result, they are highly unstable and weakly anchored in
the broader public. Coalitions among parties tend to be purely opportunistic
and do not last long. Before each election, the party landscape changes
dramatically. In the 2003 parliamentary elections, the Laborist Party, the
United National Movement, the New Rights Party, and the United Democrats
are expected to be major challengers to the incumbent powers, whether
separately or in a coalition."

Document(s): Open document

12.2002 - Source:

Central Asia and the Caucasus, Journal for Social and Political Studies: Election in Georgia - The Stumbling Block for Political Parties (No 6 (18) 2002) ("Central Asia and the Caucasus, Journal for Social and Political Studies") [ID 4696]

Throughout the last 10 to 15 years the party system of the republic has lived through several radical changes

"Throughout the last 10 to 15 years the party system of the republic has lived through several radical changes. A multiparty system began to take shape soon after the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Even before that, in 1990 elections brought to power ultra-nationalists. After the tragic events of 1991-1992 in the Georgian capital and the 1992 parliamentary elections certain politicians with a successful communist party and Komsomol past came to power.

After the presidential elections of 2000 the ruling Union of Citizens party split. After a torturous process that lasted two years the party liquidated itself. The country entered a new period of party life. Regrettably, the party infrastructure is still changing for several reasons: the republic has not acquired traditions of a multiparty system; since communist times parties are associated with definite persons; the country is living amid a constant political warfare.

The political parties have not yet resolved their ideological and organizational problems; their programs, rules and election platforms differ but little from each other. People are no longer amazed when parties change their names for narrow political considerations, revise their ideas and philosophies, enter into short-lived ad hoc alliances with parties the declared positions of which radically differ from their own.

Recently, political parties disappeared and new political parties appeared more often than before; many of them made hardly justified steps to secure their own goals. Regrettably, certain members of the political establishment are wasting their strength on petty intrigues and squabbles while political life in the republic has become criminalized to a certain extent. Corruption, embezzlement of grants and loans, and abuse of official positions caused no surprise.

Despite this, the party system in Georgia is working; new parties of the so-called middle class appeared. They are gradually moving away from the accepted style of political life. This breeds hope that little by little the parties will demonstrate more honesty toward their supporters.

The elections to the bodies of local self-administration were mainly conducted according to the majority system. Tbilisi alone voted for party lists: twenty parties ran for the city duma. There were several favorites among them, nearly all of them were opposition parties. One can say that the results came as a surprise to no one. The following parties got the largest number of votes: the Labor Party, the National Movement and the New Right. The period of preparation for the election was not free of serious violations: until the last moment nobody knew the exact number of voters in the capital, the district election commissions took too long to be formed; some of the districts had no lists of voters while on the election day voters failed to find several of the polling stations.

Until now nobody knows which of the official structures were responsible for these failures. On the eve of the elections Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Dzhumber Lominadze asked President Shevardnadze to postpone the elections. The president refused.

It should be said that under the law the elections should have taken place in the fall of 2001. In the complex political situation in the country at that time (the president disbanded the executive structures, Zurab Zhvania, the speaker and the leader of the Union of Citizens party left his post that shifted the balance of political forces) the president and the government agreed that the local elections should be postponed till better days.

On 2 June, 2002 the situation remained the same—the country was not ready to vote."

Document(s): Central Asia and the Caucasus, Journal for Social and Political Studies

06.2002 - Source: British Helsinki Human Rights Group

BHHRG: Parties registered for the 2002 local elections ("Report: Georgia 2002") [#8566], [ID 4694]

"1. Citizens' Union of Georgia (SMK)
2. "Revival XXI" (Revival)
3. "Industry Will Save Georgia" (Industrialists)
4. Georgian Labour Party
5. National Democratic Party (NDP)
6. People's Party - Union of Traditionalists
7. United Stalinist Communist Party - Council of Workers
9. Green Party
10. Merab Kostava Society
11. Helsinki Revival - National Forum
24. National Unity Bloc
27. The Nationalists
31. "Solidarity" Political Union
32. League of the Intelligentsia
34. National Movement-Democratic Front (National Movement)
35. Constitutional Law Party
36. Christian Conservative Party ("Zhvania's Team")
37. Social-Democratic Party
38. "New Rightists" Party
39. Socialist Party
40. "Unity" Bloc

The reason for the gaps in the ballot order was that several groups not competing still enjoyed the status of parties in Georgia, and still retained their "number" under Georgian electoral law. The order of the first seven corresponded to the order in which parties in the last election (1999 parliamentary) finished. At least the last 7 parties had not been registered during the last election, and as is so often the case in ex-Soviet elections, most of the "parties" competing were evidently bogus (i.e., enjoying no significant membership or popular base, and set up for the purposes of manipulating the proportional representation system in favour of one or another main competing group). On ballots throughout the country (except Tbilisi) there were usually four or five parties represented by majoritarian candidates, plus a few independents. In Tbilisi, the ballot appeared simply in the form above."

Document(s): Internal affairs
Polling day Conclusion Open document

06.2002 - Source:

Civil Georgia: Parties registered for the 2002 local elections (including brief background and list of 10 top candidates in Tbilisi) ("Civil Georgia: Parties in 2002 local elections") [ID 4695]

"1. Citizens Union of Georgia (Party has no Chairman)

The largest party in Georgia chaired by the President Shevardnadze until September 2001. Throughout the years, the party was President's support in the Parliament, were he was creating a majority. After Shevardnadze's resignation from the party's chairmanship, internal conflicts emerged and the CUG started to fall apart. Several political parties were created on the remains of the party.
In the locals the CUG will be represented by Levan Mamaladze (governor of Kvemo Kartli region) and his team. This group, which supports President Shevardnadze, defeated Zhvania's team in several court processes and was registered by the Central Election Commission, though with certain delay.

2. Revival-XXI (Leader: Aslan Abashidze)

This block is a support for the Head of the Adjarian Autonomous Republic Aslan Abashidze in the Parliament.

3. Industry Will Save Georgia (Created in 1999, Chairman: Gogi Topadze)

This party, like the New Rights, is also led by influential businessmen: Gogi Topadze and Zurab Tkemaladze. The party was very successful in the parliamentary elections of 1999, securing the 'third place'. The party members are not very radical and have 14 representatives in the Parliament.

4. Labor Party of Georgia (Chairman: Shalva Natelashvili)

The party is a winner of 1998 local elections. Such a victory was quite unexpected though. The party would have very good chances to endorse its members in Tbilisi Sakrebulo in these elections as well. Leader of the party Shalva Natelashvili is famous by his radical criticism to Shevardnadze's government.

5. National-Democratic Party (NDP) (Chairman: Irina Sarishvili-Chanturia)

The party was actively engaged in the independence movement of late '80-ies. Its leaders were most active members of this movement. The party enjoyed significant power in the middle of '90-ies, however suffered complete failure in the last parliamentary elections and do not have representatives in the Parliament.

6. People's Party - Traditionalists Union (Leaders: Akaki Asatiani, Mamuka Giorgadze)

Two parties are united in this group the Traditionalists and the Peoples Party. The Traditionalists entered the Parliament under the lists of Revival block. The People's Party consists of former members of national Democratic Party.

7. Block "United Communist (Stalin) Party and Wokers Unions"

9. The Green Party of Georgia (Chairman: Giorgi Gachechiladze)

10. Merab Kostava Society (Chairman: Vazha Adamia)

11. The Helsinki Union of Georgia - National Revival - National Frontier (Chairman: Tengiz Kikacheishvili)

24. Election Block "The National Unity Party of Georgia" (Chairman: Gia Mamaladze)

27. The Nationalists (Chairman: Gia Mamaladze)

31. Political Union "Tanadgoma" (Chairman: Tamaz Kalandadze)

32. Intelectuals' League of Georgia (Chairman: Irakli Lomtadze)

34. Election Block "National Movement - Democratic Front" (Leader: Mikheil Saakashvili)

A radical opposition to Shevardnadze's government. Leader of the "National Movement" Mikheil Saakashvili, former member of the CUG, hopes for having majority in Tbilisi's Sakrebulo (council) and taking the post of its chairman. His election slogan is "Georgia without Shevardnadze". In one of his radio interviews Shevardnadze called this slogan a 'confrontation booster'.

"Union of National Forces" and "Republicans" are also in the Saakashvili's movement. However these two groups do not have their representatives in the Parliament and were not significant political force before teaming up with the Reformers.

35. The Constitutional Rights Defender Party (Chairman: Z. Agladze)

36. "The Christian-Conservative Party Georgia - Zurab Zhvania's Team" (Chairman: Shota Malashkhia)

After it became clear that former Parliamentary Chairman Zurab Zhvania would not participate in the locals under the CUG name, the Christian-Conservative Party conceded its election lists to Zhvania's team. This team is also being called 'The Reformers'. Members of this team were holding key positions in the Parliament for quite long time, however after recent redistribution of the Parliamentary posts, lost their influence almost completely.

37. The Social Democratic Party of Georgia (Chairman: Jemal Kakhniashvili)

38. "The New Rights" (Chairman: Levan Gachechiladze)

Yet another group, which broke away from the CUG. The New Rights are led by two influential businessmen Levan Gachechiladze and David Gamkrelidze. Levan Gachechiladze left the Parliament few days before the elections and also hopes for having majority in Tbilisi Sakrebulo and post of its chairman. The New Rights party was established in June 2001 and is being represented in the Parliament by 18 MPs. The Reformers believe that the New Rights will be leading the new majority in the Parliament.

39. "Socialist Party of Georgia" (Chairman: Vakhtang Rcheulishvili)

Chairman of the party is Vakhtang Rcheulishvili, however he is not going to take part in the elections personally. The party is relatively old, having representatives even in the first Parliament of 1992. The party participated in the last parliamentary elections under the lists of Revival block and has 10 MPs in the Parliament at present.

40. Block "The Unity" (Leader: J. Patiashvili, A. Chachia)"

Document(s): Civil Georgia: Parties in 2002 local elections

07.2001 - Source: Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development

Georgia lacks any strong parties with more or less clear-cut ideological principles ("Georgia's Membership in the Council of Europe, Achievements and Failures") [#10549], [ID 4697]

"Georgia lacks any strong parties with more or less clear-cut ideological principles. The main electoral entities – CUG and Revival – were consolidated around personalities of Shevardnadze and Abashidze respectively. CUG does not clearly position itself on the traditional right-left spectrum, it includes liberalminded pro-Western reformers such as speaker of Parliament Zurab Zhvania or the minister of justice, Mikheil Saakashvili, but also many members of former communist nomenclatura without definite political views. The Revival coalition includes a leftist Socialist party by also center-right Traditionalists and nationalistic 21st Century, as well as Abashidze's personal party, the Union of Revival. Industry Will Save Georgia mainly lobbies for the reduction of taxes and policies of economic protectionism. The New Rights is mainly engaged in criticizing Zurab Zhvania and ministers representing his team."

Document(s): cipdd-geo.pdf

1999 - Source: International Telecommunications and Information Center

International Centre for Civic Culture: Directory of political parties ("Political Parties of Georgia, Directory 1999") [#10642], [ID 4698]

This directory was created prior to the October 31, 1999 parliament elections for the purpose of providing a complete spectrum of Georgian political parties. Therefore, it was decided to include here not only the parties participating in elections, but all registered political parties.

"According to the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, as of September 1, 1999, there are 124 political parties registered in Georgia. (79 parties were registered on September 26, 1998) In order to collect the material for this directory, ICCC distributed questionnaires to all 124 registered parties. 93 parties have been included in the directory, 31 parties failed to return the questionnaire. Some claimed they didn’t have adequate time to respond, some of the parties have not been found at the addresses given by the Ministry of Justice and others just refused.

All of the information in this directory came from responses that were submitted by the political parties. The directory consists of three sections. The first section includes information about the 32 parties and blocs participating in the October 31, 1999 Parliament elections. In this section of the directory the parties are organised in the same order as they are to appear on the ballot. In the second section we present information about all other registered parties which will not be participating in the local elections. In this section the parties are listed alphabetically. In the third section, we present information about local self-governing bodies that were elected as a result of the November 15 1998 local elections. There are 125 (Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Poti, Rustavi, 60 rayon, 60 city and town) local councils."

Document(s): Open document
iccc-polparties1999.pdf