Can Georgia Become a Multiparty Democracy?

Author(s): Cory Welt
Editor(s): Robert Orttung
Series: Caucasus Analytical Digest (CAD)
Issue: 43
Pages: 13-15
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University
Publication Year: 2012

Georgia's October 2012 parliamentary elections were historic. They marked the first time in Georgia's independent history that a ruling party acknowledged electoral defeat and handed over power. The question now is whether the victorious Georgian Dream coalition will end up being democrats in practice. The Georgian Dream is a decentralized and diverse grouping of parties, which will take office with a slim majority in what will be a parliamentary system of governance after constitutional reforms take effect in October 2013. The leadership of the outgoing party of power, the United National Movement, appears to be committed to playing a substantive role as the parliamentary minority. While much could still go awry, the intra-coalition dynamics of the Georgian Dream, the UNM's transformation into an opposition force, and mutual political tolerance after the election bode well for the consolidation of Georgian democracy.

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