5 - Democratic Arrival? 2012–2020

Summary

A period of political cohabitation followed the peaceful transition of power after the 2012 elections. Saakashvili, as an opposition leader, was president. Bidzina Ivanishvili headed the winning political party, Georgian Dream, and served as prime minister with a majority in parliament. Following the prison tape scandal, external democratizers were more watchful and critical of the new government. The removal of the unwanted government, however, appeased Russia. These factors permitted political pluralism and heightened competition between the government and the opposition.

The Period of Cohabitation

For the first time, the former ruling party remained in the political space rather than dissolving after electoral losses. The president was in opposition and had a parliamentary minority to correct the government decisions and counterbalance the ruling majority. Two elements facilitated this outcome. In 2009 the government decided to redefine the constitutional mechanisms of power sharing, but these constitutional amendments were not enacted until 2013. The newly established constitutional commission, which was headed by Avtandil Demetrashvili, the first and former chair of the Constitutional Court of Georgia, had specific goals within the constitutional agenda, such as distancing a president from the executives and legislature. Political opponents perceived the rewriting of the constitution as Saakashvili's strategic decision to become the prime minister after his presidency. Post-Soviet leaders mastered this undemocratic practice of a constitutional power swap, and the government leadership remained unaffected. The electoral outcomes of 2012 prevented this scenario from happening in Georgia. The new constitutional revisions generated a process of cohabitation. Secondly, the United States and the EU suggested that the Georgian government be careful in its actions against the former government officials. Their argument was that the judicial system was undertaking reforms; cases relating to the miscarriage of justice risked becoming a tool of political revenge. But unlike the previous government, the ruling Georgian Dream coalition had no articulated foreign identity, which reduced the influence of the West within their decision-making processes. Furthermore, the Georgian Dream came to power with the main promise of improving human rights conditions, for which the first step was to hold the perpetrators responsible. Transgressing from this commitment weakened the linkages between the Georgian Dream and its constituency.