Rightist Opposition
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The Right Opposition ( ka, მემარჯვენე ოპოზიცია, tr) was an alliance of
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 ...
's New Rights (Conservatives) and
Industry Will Save Georgia Industry Will Save Georgia ( ka, მრეწველობა გადაარჩენს საქართველოს, tr) is a center-right political party in Georgia. History The party was founded in 1999 by Gogi Topadze, the proprie ...
parties. It was the only opposition group that received over seven percent of the votes in the
2004 Georgian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia (country), Georgia on 28 March 2004. They followed the partial annulment of the 2003 Georgian parliamentary election, November 2003 parliamentary elections, which were widely believed to have been rigg ...
, passing the electoral threshold to secure seats in Parliament.


History

The alliance was formed prior to the 2004 Georgian parliamentary election, which was held after the 2003
Rose Revolution The Rose Revolution or Revolution of Roses ( ka, ვარდების რევოლუცია, tr) was a nonviolent change of power that occurred in Georgia in November 2003. The event was brought about by widespread protests over the ...
in Georgia. Both New Rights and the Industry Will Save Georgia refused to join rallies of the other opposition parties during the Rose Revolution, criticizing its leaders and distancing from the event. After the 2004 parliamentary election, both the Right Opposition and National Movement traded allegations of vote rigging. However, neither of these claims were substantiated by observers from the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
in their subsequent report on the elections. The coalition initially gained fifteen of the 150 seats that were elected by party list, but the votes in several of these constituencies were annulled after the elections. They had also retained two seats from single-mandate constituencies which they gained in the
2003 Georgian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia (country), Georgia on 2 November 2003 alongside a 2003 Georgian constitutional referendum, constitutional referendum. According to statistics released by the Georgian Election Commission, the elections ...
, the results of which were largely annulled after the Rose Revolution. Both New Rights and Industrialists found their support largely in the private enterprise community and were particularly popular with those employed in the private sector. As a result, for years the two parties fought each other for the same electorate. While the alliance was formed only weeks before the 2004 elections, the party leaders subsequently agreed to merge their two groups into one party, forming the center-right alternative to initially center-left National Movement, which won the 2004 parliamentary election and became the governing party in Georgia.


Platform

The alliance's main political priorities included securing a
flat tax A flat tax (short for flat-rate tax) is a tax with a single rate on the taxable amount, after accounting for any deductions or exemptions from the tax base. It is not necessarily a fully proportional tax. Implementations are often progressi ...
system in Georgia; reducing government regulations on business; increasing economic growth and job creation in the private sector; rising defense spending and securing
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membership no later than 2010; and promoting liberal democratic political institutions. The alliance also supported creating a "common trade area in South Caucasian region" and restoration of Georgia's territorial integrity by creating a common economic projects with the Georgia's breakaway regions of
Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...
and
South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...
.


Electoral performance


References

{{Georgian political parties Conservative parties in Georgia (country) Defunct political party alliances in Georgia (country)