The Christian-Democratic Movement ( ka, ქრისტიანულ-დემოკრატიული მოძრაობა, ''k’ristianul-demokratiuli modzraoba'', KDM) is a
socially conservative
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social instituti ...
Christian-democratic political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to t ...
, founded in February 2008 and led by
Giorgi Targamadze, formerly an
Imedi TV anchor who had once been a Member of 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; of these, 120 are proporti ...
and a close ally of
Aslan Abashidze
Aslan Abashidze ( ka, ასლან აბაშიძე; born July 20, 1938) is the former leader of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic in western Georgia. He served in this capacity from 18 August 1991 to May 5, 2004. He resigned under the pres ...
, then a regional leader of
Adjara. Former Imedi TV journalists Magda Anikashvili and Giorgi Akhvlediani and former Imedi producer Levan Vepkhvadze, all of whom left the station in January 2008, and one of the leading figures in the party Nika Laliashvili also joined the party.
Among its policies is a commitment to making Orthodox Christianity the state religion of Georgia.
At the May 21, 2008 Georgian legislative election, the party was one of several opposition parties to gain seats in Parliament. However the opposition parties as a whole had such small representation, after elections they considered rigged, that almost all the elected MPs renounced their mandates. The Christian Democrat members however chose to retain their seats, and the party became the main opposition to the ruling United National Movement in Parliament, often referred to as the "Parliamentary Opposition."
The party joined the
Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists
The European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR Party), formerly known as Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) (2009–2016) and Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) (2016–2019), is a Conservatis ...
in August 2012.
The heavily polarized
October 2012 Legislative election resulted in the third place for the party, but a mere 2.05% of the votes was not enough to get any of its candidates to the parliament, and the party lost all its six seats.
In April 2014, after party leader
Giorgi Targamadze announced that he was leaving party, majority of party members and leaders joined
Nino Burjanadze's
Democratic Movement - United Georgia
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
and party practically united with Burjanadze's party, some of party members criticized this decision, party officially still exists under rule of Gocha Jojua.
Electoral performance
References
External links
Christian-Democratic Movement official website
2008 establishments in Georgia (country)
Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe member parties
Christian democratic parties in Asia
Christian democratic parties in Europe
Conservative parties in Georgia (country)
Centre-right parties in Georgia (country)
Eastern Orthodox political parties
European Christian Political Movement
International Democrat Union member parties
Political parties established in 2008
Political parties in Georgia (country)
Social conservative parties
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