The Christian-Democratic Movement ( ka, ქრისტიანულ-დემოკრატიული მოძრაობა, tr, KDM) is a

socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institu ...

Christian-democratic Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo-scholasticism, as well a ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

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 ...

, 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 elected through fully pr ...

and a close ally of

Aslan Abashidze Aslan Abashidze ( ka, ასლან აბაშიძე; born 20 July 1938) is the former leader of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic in western Georgia. He served in this capacity from 18 August 1991 to 5 May 2004. He resigned under the press ...

, then a regional leader of

Adjara Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a ...

. 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 Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

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 or simply ECR), 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 ...

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 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; ...

's Democratic Movement - United Georgia 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) European Conservatives and Reformists Party 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 Party International Democracy Union member parties Political parties established in 2008 Socially conservative parties {{Georgia-party-stub