Elections Provoke Unrest in Georgia

Although international indicators herald Georgia as a success story for the Eastern Partnership region, contestation after the first round of the parliamentary elections has thrown the country’s politics into disarray. Only an orderly and fair second round vote has a chance to correct at least some of the negative impressions and transform political rivalry in Georgia into a more orderly form of competition.

While the US presidential election dominated political discussion in Europe in early November, another important electoral process took place in Georgia on 31 October.

Comparable to the Moldovan presidential election of last Sunday, the second round of the parliamentary elections in the liberal frontrunner of the Caucasus is important not only fur the country but also the wider region.

Unlike in Moldova, the second round this Saturday is expected to confirm the results of the first round in late October. This is because 120 out of 150 seats in the Georgian legislature were already filled by means of proportional representation (after a new system lowered the electoral threshold to three per cent earlier this year).