| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Sakartvelos Parlamenti / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
21 May 2008 |
| Timing and scope of renewal |
Elections were held for all the seats in the Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
The May 2008 parliamentary elections followed the re-election of President Mikhail Saakashvili in January. In the referendum held concurrently with the presidential elections, Georgians decided to hold the parliamentary elections in the spring instead of the autumn of 2008. On 21 March, President Saakashvili signed a decree calling elections for 21 May.
In previous elections in November 2003, the results for the 150 seats filled under the proportional representation (PR) system were cancelled by the Constitutional Court. The elections for the PR seats were repeated in March 2004. The final tally gave President Saakashvili's National Movement-Democrats (which renamed itself the United National Movement, UNM) a total of 161 of the 235 seats, while the Right Opposition took 17. The remainder went to independents and small parties.
For the 2008 elections, the statutory number of seats in parliament was reduced from 235 to 150 and parliament's term extended from four to five years, in keeping with a referendum held in November 2003. The threshold to win seats under the PR system dropped from 7 to 5 per cent, and the number of signatures required for political parties to register their candidates was reduced from 50,000 to 30,000.
In March 2008, the opposition parties demanded that 100 seats be elected by the PR system, arguing that the new electoral system favoured the ruling UNM. The Government dismissed the argument and insisted that 75 members each should be elected under the PR and the majority systems. Despite an 18-day hunger strike led by opposition members, the government proposal was adopted for use in the 2008 elections.
In April, the outgoing Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Nino Burdjanadze - who was first on the UNM PR list - announced that she would not run, saying that she did not trust the candidates selected by President Saakashvili. She emphasized that the 2008 elections were a test for democracy in the country and urged the Government to ensure that voters were able to cast their ballots freely.
In all, three election blocs and nine parties contested the elections. Former Foreign Minister David Bakradze led the UNM which campaigned on the government's record. Pro-European President Saakashvili pledged to revive the economy and tackle corruption. He promised to work toward the country's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). At a summit in Bucharest in April, NATO stressed that free and fair parliamentary elections were key criteria for Georgia to sign the Membership Action Plan (MAP).
President Saakashvili's rival in the 2008 presidential elections, Mr. Levan Gachechiladze, led the Joint Opposition (National Council, New Rights), which had been formed in 2007 by nine parties. It ran an election campaign under the slogan "Movement for the liberation of Georgia". Mr. Gachechiladze termed President Saakashvili's regime "political terror". He accused the President of corruption and restricting freedom of speech. He also promised to soften the country's policy towards Russia, which opposed the country's NATO accession bid.
A former presenter on an opposition television station, Mr. Giorgi Targamadze, led another opposition bloc, the Giorgi Targamadze-Christian Democrats alliance. It comprised 12 parties, including the Green Party, Forward Georgia and the Party of the Future.
Mr. Targamadze vowed to make Orthodox Christianity the official religion in Georgia (over 80 per cent of Georgians are reportedly Orthodox). The Republican Party called for radical economic reform. It criticized President Saakashvili's "autocratic" style. Other opposition parties included the Labour Party (LP) of veteran politician Shalva Natelashvili. The ruling UNM seized every opportunity to criticize the fragmented opposition forces.
In all, 53.39 per cent of the 3.4 million registered voters turned out at the polls. On polling day, one opposition activist was shot dead.
About 400 observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitored the polls. The OSCE praised the participation of various political parties as "a wide array of choices" for voters, and acknowledged the authorities' efforts to conduct elections in line with OSCE and Council of Europe standards. However, it concluded that a number of irregularities, such as insufficient use of indelible ink, made the application of these standards "uneven and incomplete". Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze said that the elections took place in a calm atmosphere.
The final results gave a total of 119 seats to the UNM. The Joint Opposition came in a distant second with 17 seats. The Christian Democrats and the LP won six seats each, while the Republican Party took two.
LP leader Natelashvili urged the electoral commission to annul the results in several districts. The Joint Opposition denounced irregularities in the poll and said it would boycott Parliament.
The newly elected Parliament held its first session on 7 June. The session was boycotted by the opposition, except two members of the LP and the two Republican Party members. Mr. David Bakradze (UNM) was elected as the new Speaker. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 21 May 2008 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
3'465'736
1'850'407 (53.39%)
56'099
1'794'308 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% of votes |
|
|
| United National Movement (UNM) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| "The Joint Opposition (National Council, New Rights)" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| "Giorgi Targamadze-Christian -Democrats" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| "Shalva Natelashvili-Labor Party" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Republican Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total of seats
|
Majority |
Proportional |
|
|
| United National Movement (UNM) |
119
|
71 |
48 |
|
|
| "The Joint Opposition (National Council, New Rights)" |
17
|
2 |
15 |
|
|
| "Giorgi Targamadze-Christian -Democrats" |
6
|
0 |
6 |
|
|
| "Shalva Natelashvili-Labor Party" |
6
|
0 |
6 |
|
|
| Republican Party |
2
|
2 |
0 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
141
9
6.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
|
| Comments |
| Source: Parliament (10.06.2008) |
|
