Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

Background

Georgia’s constitutional system has long been a source of controversy. Although there has been no complete re-drafting of the constitution since 1995, in reality Georgia’s constitutional arrangements have changed markedly in the last fifteen years. Following the Rose Revolution of 2003, the United National Movement (UNM), spearheaded a sweeping set of amendments to the constitution, which the Parliament passed into law in February 2004.

These amendments strengthened the powers of the presidency, granting it the right to propose and veto legislation, and simplifying the procedures necessary for the president to dismiss parliament. The Georgian opposition and some civil society groups have since criticised this system, and advocated a parliamentary republic or at least a strengthened parliament. There have been a number of other changes to the constitution since 2004, many of which the opposition and some watchdog groups condemned.

On 8 June 2009 President Saakashvili announced the establishment of a State Constitutional Commission. It was created with the intention of providing an opportunity for Georgia to emerge with a system that better reflects the realities of the present day, and that will prove more stable and durable. Among the opposition, only the parties currently in parliament are represented in the commission. Georgia’s extra-parliamentary opposition – those who were behind the protests in the spring – have refused to take part in its work.

NIMD’s role in the Constitutional Reform Process

NIMD supports the constitutional reform process in Georgia in several ways. Firstly, in mid-2010, NIMD published a report of a study implemented by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) which described popular opinion on the issues pertaining to constitutional and governance processes. The publication, entitled Georgian Constitutional Reform in the Eyes of the Public garnered significant interest from the Constitutional Commission itself, as well as Georgian political parties and a number of national and international NGOs working in Georgia.

Building on this positive result, NIMD – together with the State Constitutional Commission and ISFED (International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy) – has now organised eight public meetings on constitutional reform in five different regions of Georgia, with the intention of stimulating more inclusive, substantial and active debates on the issues of constitutional reform.

To reach various sectors of the population, NIMD selected eight locations in Georgia, namely: Gori in Shida Kartli Region, Rustavi and Gardabani in Kvemo Kartli Region, Khelvachauri and Kobuleti in Autonomous Republic of Adjara, Senaki in Samegrelo Zemo Svaneti Region, Oni and Tsageri in Racha-Lechkhumi Region. By supporting the outreach and debates in the regions, NIMD aimed to facilitate an increase in the awareness of regional groups about the matters at stake and encourage them to voice their concerns.

The Regional Debates

NIMD’s representative in Georgia, Levan Tsutskiridze, moderated the debates and presented the results of the CRRC study in order to give an overview of public attitudes towards constitutional reform, their expectations of the process and the preferences of the Georgian population on key constitutional principles.

The debates themselves focused on the major issues covered by the draft constitution, including the question of territorial settlement and local self-government; government systems and the balance of power; and the role of the judiciary. The presence of State Constitutional Commission representatives at the meetings meant that participants were given comprehensive answers to their questions.

The fact that the debates helped raise citizens’ awareness on constitutional rights and on the constitution in general is an important one, given that the results of the NIMD survey showed this awareness to be alarmingly low amongst the Georgian population. Furthermore, for citizens residing in regions, where political life is rarely active (especially during the non-election period), the meetings took on added significance.

The debates demonstrate NIMD’s belief in the benefit of inclusive dialogue which, when it comes to the constitutional reform process, is arguably just as important as the contents of the constitution itself.

Read more about NIMD’s programme in Georgia.