Page 6 - GEORptAug18

2.0 Politics
2.1 Uncertainty reigns in Georgia ahead of autumn
presidential election, NDI says
Non-profit the National Democratic Institute (NDI) talks of an “atmosphere of uncertainty” in Georgia ahead of this autumn’s presidential elections, not only as to the candidates to be fielded by parties including ruling Georgian Dream, but also in terms of the relevance of the election.
Georgians are due to go to the polls in October to elect their president directly for the last time, following controversial changes to the constitution that will see the president chosen by the 300 members of the College of Electors.
This has raised questions among many Georgians as to how much power the last directly elected president, who will serve a six-year term, will have in practice.
“While some argued the elections were irrelevant, others asserted that even with reduced responsibilities, the president still has an important public mandate to represent citizens and shape national discussions,” says the statement from NDI, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organisation whose mission is to support and strengthen democratic institutions.
“Further, opposition leaders noted he or she has the potential to serve as an additional check on government and introduce more pluralistic public debate,” the statement adds.
A handful of candidates have already come forward, among them former parliament speaker David Bakradze, who will be the candidate of the opposition European Georgia party , and former foreign minister Grigol Vashadze for fellow opposition party United National Movement (UNM).
However, incumbent President Giorgi Margvelashvili has not yet said whether he will stand for reelection, and it is also not clear whether the ruling Georgian Dream will back Margvelashvili or support another candidate; the party is expected to announce its candidate by the end of the summer.
Despite the ambiguity surrounding the upcoming election, however, NDI says the election is a chance for candidates and parties to energise Georgians, who have become disenchanted with their political leaders.
“It will be important to tie the functions of the office to the daily issues people care about, particularly the economy, without making promises that go beyond scope of the president’s responsibilities," the NGO argues.
At the same time, it warns of challenges in previous votes that need to be resolved, specifically alleged intimidation by state agencies, and the advantages enjoyed by the ruling party in terms of resources, both “uneven campaign donations and alleged abuse of state resources”.
6 GEORGIA Country Report August 2018 www.intellinews.com