Presidential elections were held in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
on 27 October 2013, the
sixth presidential elections since the country's restoration of independence from the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
in 1991. The
last elections in January 2008 resulted in the re-election of
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...
for his second and final
presidential
Presidential may refer to:
* "Presidential" (song), a 2005 song by YoungBloodZ
* Presidential Airways (charter), an American charter airline based in Florida
* Presidential Airways (scheduled), an American passenger airline active in the 1980s
* ...
term.
[History of elections, 1990–2010](_blank)
. Central Electoral Commission of Georgia. Retrieved on 27 November 2011. Saakashvili was
constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term.
The elections were held under a
two-round system
The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...
.
Giorgi Margvelashvili
Giorgi Margvelashvili ( ka, გიორგი მარგველაშვილი; born 4 September 1969) is a Georgian academic and politician who was the fourth president of Georgia, in office from 17 November 2013 to 16 December 2018.
...
was elected with a majority of votes in the first round.
Background
The
previous presidential elections were held on 5 January 2008 in a polarised political environment following the
November 2007 crisis, in response to which President Mikheil Saakashvili, then serving his first term in office, brought forward the elections from the original date in autumn 2008. Saakashvili won the election with 53.47% of the votes in an election described in the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...
(OSCE) election observation mission report as "the first genuinely competitive post-independence presidential election", which "was in essence consistent with most OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections". At the same time, the mission "revealed significant challenges which need to be addressed urgently."
[Georgia. Extraordinary Presidential Election, 5 January 2008](_blank)
. OSCE/ODIHR
The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is the principal institution of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) dealing with the " human dimension" of security. The Office, originally established in 1 ...
Election Observation Mission Final Report (4 March 2008). Retrieved on 27 November 2011.
In the October 2012
parliamentary elections
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
, the former ruling party
United National Movement
United National Movement (UNM; ka, ერთიანი ნაციონალური მოძრაობა, tr) also colloquially known as the Natsebi is a liberal conservative political party in Georgia. Tina Bokuchava serves as the p ...
(ENM) lost power to the
Georgian Dream
Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia (GD), also colloquially known as the Kotsebi, is a Conservatism, conservative and populism, populist List of political parties in Georgia (country), political party in Georgia (country), Georgia, which has ...
coalition led by
Bidzina Ivanishvili
Bidzina Ivanishvili (; born 18 February 1956), also known as Boris Grigoryevich Ivanishvili, is a French-Georgian businessman, politician and billionaire oligarch. He is founder and the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party and has ruled G ...
, who became the new Prime Minister.
Upon the inauguration of a new president in 2013, a series of
constitutional
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
amendments passed in the
Parliament of Georgia
The Parliament of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტი, tr) is the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members elected through fully pr ...
from 2010 to 2013 would enter into force. The amendments envisaged significant reduction of the president's powers in favour of the
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
.
Candidates
The Georgian Dream coalition named
Giorgi Margvelashvili
Giorgi Margvelashvili ( ka, გიორგი მარგველაშვილი; born 4 September 1969) is a Georgian academic and politician who was the fourth president of Georgia, in office from 17 November 2013 to 16 December 2018.
...
, then minister of education and science and deputy prime minister, as their presidential candidate on 11 May.
The candidates for the ENM presidential primaries, announced in June 2013, were former parliamentary speaker
David Bakradze, veteran lawmaker and former cabinet minister
Giorgi Baramidze
Giorgi Baramidze ( ka, გიორგი ბარამიძე; born January 5, 1968) is a Georgian politician who served as Vice Prime Minister of Georgia and State Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration from 2004 to 2012. On October 21, ...
,
Shota Malashkhia and
Zurab Japaridze
Zurab Girchi Japaridze ( ka, ზურაბ გირჩი ჯაფარიძე; born 1 January 1976) is a Georgian politician and co-founder of a libertarian party called Girchi. On 26 December 2020 he founded a new political party, Gir ...
. All the primaries were won by Bakradze, who was announced to be the presidential candidate.
On 12 June,
Nino Burjanadze
Nino Burjanadze (; ; born 16 July 1964) is a Georgian politician and lawyer who served as Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia from November 2001 to June 2008. As the first woman, she has served as the acting head of state of Georgia twice; ...
announced that she would run for president as the nominee of
Democratic Movement – United Georgia
Democratic Movement – United Georgia ( ka, დემოკრატიული მოძრაობა — ერთიანი საქართველო, tr) is a political party in Georgia chaired by Nino Burjanadze; it was founded o ...
.
Salome Zourabichvili
Salomé Nino Zourabichvili (born 18March 1952) is a French-born Georgian politician, former diplomat, and the fifth president of Georgia – the first female to be elected as president in the country's history. As a result of the constitutiona ...
, former Foreign Minister of Georgia, was denied ballot access due to her dual citizenship.
In total, 23 candidates contested the election.
Opinion polls
Opinion polls in the run-up to the election showed Margvelashvili to be the frontrunner. Polls varied between showing over 50% support for Margvelashvili and figures indicating the election would go to a second round.
Results
The result of the election was a clear first-round majority for Margvelashvili with 62% of the vote. Bakradze, his nearest rival, polled 22%.
[ Burjanadze came third, with 10% of the vote. No other candidate received more than 3% of the vote.][ The inauguration of Margvelashvili was on 17 November.]
The election saw 47% of eligible voters cast a ballot; this is lower than the 2012 parliamentary election, which saw 61% vote, and the 2008 presidential election, where 54% of voters participated.
By district or municipality
Reactions
Margvelashvili was, at the time, an ally of Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili
Bidzina Ivanishvili (; born 18 February 1956), also known as Boris Grigoryevich Ivanishvili, is a French-Georgian businessman, politician and billionaire oligarch. He is founder and the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party and has ruled G ...
, and the result was considered to be a consolidation of Ivanishvili's power.[ With his appointee elected to the presidency, Ivanishvili declared his intention to leave his role as Prime Minister, stating that his goals had been achieved.]
The election was declared as "clean" and "transparent" by international observers. The OSCE
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...
observer mission preliminary report stated that the election was "efficiently administered, transparent and took place in an amicable and constructive environment." However, there were some issues noted by observers. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, a Georgian election observer group, found "significant shortcomings" regarding invalid ID and voter lists in Batumi
Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...
, filing 45 complaints. Another group, Transparency International
Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil s ...
, filed 34 complaints.
International responses
;Supranational organizations
* — Catherine Ashton
Catherine Margaret Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland (born 20 March 1956) is a Labour Party (UK), British Labour politician who served as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of th ...
, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, and Štefan Füle
Štefan Füle (born 24 May 1962) is a former Czech Republic, Czech diplomat who served as the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy from February 2010 until October 2014.
Early life and education
Füle was born ...
, the Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, released a statement where they congratulated "the Georgian people on this demonstration of their country's strong democratic credentials" and that they "look forward to continued close cooperation with Georgia on our ambitious mutual agenda of political association and economic integration."
;States
* — US Department of State release said that they "witnessed another historic day for all Georgians" and an "important step in Georgia's democratic development and its embrace of Euro-Atlantic institutions."
* — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2004. He is the longest-serving Russian foreign minister since Andrei Gromyko d ...
congratulated the Georgian people on the "free and fair election" and expressed his hope that the new government would "adopt a friendly policy toward Russia, one that will take into account the current situation in this complex region."
* — Foreign Minister Carl Bildt
Nils Daniel Carl Bildt (born 15 July 1949) is a Swedish politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994. He led the Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999, appearing as its lead candidate in four general elections, b ...
congratulated Georgia on "its well-run presidential election and Giorgi Margvelashvili on clearly being the winner."
References
{{Georgian elections
Presidential elections in Georgia (country)
Presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The p ...
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...