The hostile actions of the United States on the Korean Peninsula may lead to a “real war” with the DPRK, Azernews reports.
Day: November 23, 2024
Who will choose Georgia’s next president?
The final results of the October 26 elections in Georgia (which the ruling party believes have already been decided, though the opposition and the country’s Western partners have yet to recognize their legitimacy) will determine not only the composition of parliament but also who will become the next, sixth president of Georgia.
For the first time, the president will be elected not through a nationwide vote, but by a special electoral commission.
This raises a number of questions:
- What is the electoral commission?
- Who will nominate the candidates?
- How will the process unfold?
- Who will oversee it?
- Will the opposition have a fair say, given that opposition parties in parliament have claimed election fraud and refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the new parliament?
JAMnews sought to answer these questions with Shota Narsia, a researcher at the non-governmental organization “International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy” (ISFED).
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What does it mean that the people will no longer elect the president?
Two documents provide the guidelines for electing the president of Georgia: the Constitution and the Electoral Code.
Article 50 of the Constitution states that the president of Georgia must be elected by a special electoral commission through an open vote, without debates. This change was introduced in 2017 and took effect in 2024. Therefore, this will be the first time this process is used.
As a result, the current president, Salome Zourabichvili, will be the last president elected through a popular vote. She has held the office since December 16, 2018.
The office of president was first established in Georgia in 1991. To date, the country has had five presidents: Zviad Gamsakhurdia (1991-1992), Eduard Shevardnadze (1995-2003), Mikheil Saakashvili (2004-2013), Giorgi Margvelashvili (2013-2018), and Salome Zourabichvili (2018-2024).
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Who can become president of Georgia?
According to the Constitution, any person who is at least 40 years old and has lived in Georgia for at least 15 years can become president.
For how long will the president of Georgia be elected?
As before, the president of Georgia is elected for a term of 5 years.
What will the status of the elected president be? Has anything changed in this regard?
No. There has been no change in this regard. The Constitution states that the president is the head of state, the guarantor of the unity of the country, and the national independence.
The president is also the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Georgian Defense Forces and represents the country in foreign relations.
Now, back to the election process.
Who will be part of the electoral college that will elect Georgia’s new president?
The electoral college will consist of 300 people.
This includes:
- All 150 members of parliament,
- All 20 deputies of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia (operating in exile),
- All 21 deputies of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara,
- 109 representatives from local self-government bodies (Sakrebulo).
More on this last point in the next section.
How are the 109 representatives from Sakrebulo selected for the electoral college?
The selection process for this group is quite complex. There are two main rules:
- The selection is made according to special quotas. Each party that received at least one percent of the vote in local government elections nominates candidates based on this percentage.
- The law requires that all regions of the country be represented among the 109 electors from local authorities.
The last local government elections were held in 2021. The individuals who won in those elections will elect the new president.
In short, the 109 electors from local government will include 54 delegates from the “Georgian Dream” party and 55 from the opposition.
The 55 opposition delegates are distributed as such:
- “United National Movement” — 36 delegates,
- “Gakharia for Georgia” — 9,
- “Lelo” — 4,
- “European Georgia” — 2,
- “Strategy Aghmashenebeli” — 1,
- “Alliance of Patriots” — 1,
- “Labor Party” — 1,
- “Girchi – More Freedom” — 1.
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Can any party choose not to nominate a delegate?
Of course, a party has the right not to nominate a delegate to the electoral college if it chooses not to.
It is also possible that a party which won in the 2021 local elections no longer has a “representative” in Sakrebulo. They could have switched to another party or become an independent.
In such cases, the remaining seats in the 109-seat quota will be proportionally redistributed among the other parties, based on the percentage of votes they received.
In the new parliament, according to the law, there must be 150 deputies. But what will happen if the opposition follows through on its current statements and refuses to take their mandates? How will these seats in the electoral college be filled?
In this case, it is important whether the mandates of the opposition deputies are officially terminated. If, by the day of the presidential election, the opposition has not completed the formal procedures for ending their mandates, they will still be counted in the electoral college.
However, it is not enough for only those at the top of the party lists to refuse their mandates. By law, the next candidates on the list will automatically take their place.
If every person listed in the party lists announces their refusal to take a mandate and this is formally confirmed, the remaining seats in the electoral college will be filled by representatives from local self-government bodies (Sakrebulo).
Again, each party will have the right to nominate delegates in proportion to their share of the vote in the 2021 local government elections.
Does this mean that the ruling “Georgian Dream” will have even more members in the electoral college?
Yes, that’s likely to happen.
Currently, “Georgian Dream” holds 89 seats in the electoral college from the parliamentary quota and 54 seats from the Sakrebulo quota.
It is also likely that 41 deputies from the Supreme Councils of the Autonomous Republics of Abkhazia and Adjara will be added, as many of them are believed to be loyal to the ruling party.
Additionally, the number of delegates from Sakrebulo will increase.
Who nominates a presidential candidate? Will the opposition be able to nominate its own candidate?
Candidates for president are selected by the same electoral college. Each candidacy must be supported by at least 30 members of the electoral college.
Each member of the college can support only one candidate. This means that no deputy can participate in multiple groups of 30 people supporting different candidates.
When will the presidential elections take place?
The Constitution of Georgia states that the election of a new president must take place in October of the year when the term of the previous president ends.
However, if this coincides with parliamentary elections, the constitution provides a regulation. In this case, the election of a new president must take place within 45 days after the first session of the new parliament.
Therefore, the timing of the presidential election depends on the new parliament.
This could happen in 2024. If a second round of elections is required, Georgia is likely to have a new president by January 2025.
The ruling “Georgian Dream” asserts that the first session of parliament, during which its powers will be confirmed, will take place on November 25, in accordance with the law. This statement is contradicted by two lawsuits filed in the Constitutional Court demanding the annulment of the results of the October 26 elections.
On November 21, the “Georgian Dream” political council met. The composition of the future government was discussed. Party executive secretary Mamuka Mdinaradze told reporters after the meeting that they had not yet decided on a presidential candidate, noting “there are many versions.” The date for the presidential election will be announced soon, Mdinaradze said.
Who will choose Georgia’s next president?
As Georgia enters an inevitable political crisis and an uncertain future, with the ruling GD turning a blind eye to the ongoing protests over the highly disputed parliamentary elections and to the apparent problems with the legitimacy of the elections, we put three questions to the four main opposition political forces that passed the 5% threshold: 1) How they asses the ongoing situation and how they expect it to develop 2) RFE/RL Europe editor Ricard Jozwiak wrote this week that in conversations with EU officials, he hears them reluctantly admit that at some point, if things go the way they are going, they might start dealing with the new parliament and government, simply because that will be their only counterpart. Does the opposition intend to create an alternative political centre of gravity for political dialogue with Western partners? 3) What does opposition intend to do if Georgian Dream convenes the parliament and gets formal legitimation? Here is what they had to say:
Zurab Japaridze, Coalition for Change
- If the Georgian Dream succeeds in convening the new parliament and legitimizing itself, there will be a political crisis in the country that will lead to its international isolation, with a concomitant economic crisis. The process of Euro-Atlantic integration has already been halted and Georgia is expected to lose even the benefits it currently receives from the West, be it free trade or visa-free travel to the European Union. On the other hand, Ivanishvili’s Russian regime will leave no critical media, no independent civil society and no real opposition parties in the country, as has happened in Russia in recent years. The only way to stop all this is for citizens to get actively involved in street protests.
- Such a center already exists in the form of the Coordination Council of Opposition Parties, and there is coordination in communication with European partners. If it is necessary to give such a structure a more formal appearance, this will also be done.
- There is a strategy that will continue even if the Georgian Dream tries to legitimize the new parliament on the basis of the figures published by the CEC. This strategy includes a) not legitimizing the Georgian Dream parliament by the political groups that actually won on 26 October, b) working with Western partners to prevent external legitimization of the usurper government, and c) constant protests in the streets to show that the Georgian Dream government is not legitimized by the people either.
Giorgi Vashadze, Unity-UNM
- We are continuing the peaceful protests. We will announce our plans tomorrow and the day after [as of today the opposition announced the plans to conduct big rally on November 24, 21:00 and spend night near the parliament building].
- There exists an alternative center in the opposition and it will be further strengthened.
- We are not going to enter the parliament and this is not going to be a parliament. This will be an gathering of imposters. We are continuing our struggle.
Irakli Kupradze, Strong Georgia
- As for how events will develop, I have only one prediction – victory will be achieved because the pro-Western opposition is doing everything to ensure that there is no way back, that there is agreement, unity. We are renouncing mandates and we are fighting through the routine work. There are no concrete plans, for obvious reasons, because this is a spontaneous protest that often changes according to the obstacles. The only thing we can say is that this is a long-term struggle and no citizen or politician should get tired.
- I disagree with the journalist [Rikard Jozwiak]. There are ideas in the opposition about structuring the opposition. “Strong Georgia” says that there should be an idea of people’s parliament of sorts, which will structurally unite the opposition, where we will work together on the idea of new elections and establish communication with international partners. I am sure that this idea will be more or less accepted and that the process will be successful. In the direction of structuring, we have expectations and hopes that the opposition will be more cohesive and united.
- The first session of the parliament and the first meeting of their “Georgian Dream” will not change anything. It will be a demonstration of the crime they have committed by fraud. The struggle will be long, it can last for months. The main thing is that there should be no such word as fatigue among us. There must be faith in victory and I am sure that the result will be achieved.
Ana Buchukuri, Gakharia For Georgia
- As far as the assessment of the current situation is concerned, it is clear to everyone that this is a rather difficult crisis situation. This is the first phase of the crisis and the crisis will not be short-lived. The approach of our team has always been, and still is, that we cannot deceive people, we have to tell them the truth. The truth is that the situation is quite difficult and this is neither a short nor an easy process.
Following the phases of this political calendar, the main priority of our team, on which we are oriented and focused, is now to prevent the legitimisation of these rigged, stolen elections, neither inside nor outside the country. First of all, outside the country. - The fact that Rikard Jozwiak has to make such an assessment means and confirms that this issue is still up in the air, i.e. it is an evaluative category and already means that no decision has been taken. This means that the question of recognition and legitimacy is still open, including from partner countries, we are not talking about Hungary and Venezuela. Secondly, of course, Georgia will not disappear from the map. The fact that they will have to have relations is not a main point, the main thing is the question of granting or not granting legitimacy. This decision (legitimization) has not been taken and we are working to ensure that legitimization does not take place. As for the creation of an alternative centre by the opposition, our identity is that of an independent party. Yes, when it comes to defending the election, we cooperate with everyone, but we are a specific entity and, accordingly, we have close, tight communication with representatives of both the European Union member states and the United States.
- Legitimization does not happen so easy. Ambassadors have not been invited, we have heard, the opposition will not be represented in parliament, and legitimization will not take place in a closed circle. You want to meet alone. They may wish for lots of things, but legitimization does not happen that way. The source of legitimacy is, first of all and according to the Constitution, the Georgian people and we see that the Georgian people do not believe in the results of the elections, and secondly, these elections need international recognition, so both – one and the other, there are two contexts for all this. So the Georgian Dream may say a lot of things, but it means nothing. The processes are still ahead of us.
