Citizens (Georgia)

Citizens
მოქალაქეები
LeaderAleko Elisashvili
Founded4 August 2020
HeadquartersTbilisi
IdeologyLiberalism[1]
Populism[2]
Pro-Europeanism[5]
Political positionCentre to centre-left[7]
National affiliationStrong Georgia (since 2024)
Colors  Pale green
Seats in Parliament
1 / 150
Municipal Councilors
1 / 2,068
Seats in Lentekhi Municipal Assembly
1 / 21

Citizens (Georgian: მოქალაქეები, romanized: mokalakeebi) is a liberal political party in Georgia, which was founded on August 4, 2020. It is led by the runner-up candidate in the 2017 Tbilisi mayoral candidate Aleko Elisashvili. Citizens participated in the 2020 parliamentary election getting 1.33% of the vote and electing 2 MPs. For the 2024 parliamentary election it is a part of Strong Georgia coalition. The party is strongly pro-European.

History

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Aleko Elisashvili, the leader of Citizens, in 2024

On December 7, 2018, Aleko Elisashvili, the runner-up candidate in the 2017 Tbilisi mayoral candidate, founded the NGO "Georgian Civil Movement".[8] On 4 August 2020, ahead of the 2020 parliamentary election, Elisashvili turned the organization into a political party and renamed it Citizens.[9]

In the election, the party won 25,508 (1.33%) votes and managed to enter parliament with two seats, those being allocated to Elisashvili and Levan Ioseliani.[10] Elisashvili additionally ran in the Saburtalo constituency, where he received 14,181 (19.38%) votes in the first round finishing in the second place. The runoff election in the district as well as all over the country was boycotted by Elisashvili and the party along with the entire opposition on the grounds of election fraud.[11]

From the start, Citizens were among the parties most willing to negotiate with the ruling Georgian Dream party to end the boycott.[12] The party ditched the united opposition and preferred to talk with the ruling party directly. Elisashvili named electoral reform as the condition for him ending the boycott.[13] On 29 January 2021, Citizens struck a deal with Georgian Dream, becoming the first opposition party to enter the parliament.[14]

The Public Defender of Georgia Levan Ioseliani in 2024

In the 2021 local elections the party's nationwide vote dropped to 14,652 (0.83%).[15] On 7 March 2023, the Georgian parliament, with the backing of Georgian Dream, elected Ioseliani as the Public Defender.[16] His mandate was subsequently terminated, with him being replaced by Ketevan Turazashvili.[17]

Citizens backed protests against the introduction of the 'Foreign Agent Law', which has been criticized for its similarity to a Russian law that was used to crack down on civil society. On 15 April 2024, Elisashvili made international headlines for punching a Georgian Dream MP Mamuka Mdinaradze in the parliament after the law's introduction.[18] The party subsequently signed the Georgian Charter initiated by the president Salome Zourabichvili that sets out goals for a possible future government.[19] On 13 August 2024, Citizens decided to join the Lelo for Georgia-led Strong Georgia coalition for the 2024 parliamentary election.[20]

Ideology

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In the 2020 parliamentary election, Citizens was viewed as a centrist or liberal-right party.[2][4][21] However, since then its perception has shifted to a left-leaning party with it generally being described as centre-left.[3][22] 2024 Georgian Compass, despite placing the party in the liberal left corner, found it to be the most socially conservative out of the liberal opposition parties.[23] The party's ideology has been described as populism and liberalism.[1][2] Citizens is strongly in favor of European integration with sources describing it as a pro-European party.[3][4]

Electoral Performance

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Parliamentary

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Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Government Coalition
2020[10] Aleko Elisashvili 25 508 1.33
2 / 150
 New 8th Opposition Independent
2024 Aleko Elisashvili 182,922 8.81
1 / 150
 Decrease 1 4th Opposition Strong Georgia

Local

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Election Votes % Seats +/–
2021 14 652 0.83
1 / 2,068
 New

References

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  1. ^ a b Joseph Alexander Smith (December 2021). ""STAYING POWER" - Accounting for Ephemerality in the Georgian Party System Since 2012" (PDF). Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
  2. ^ a b c d "Georgia - 3 Political Parties". European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity.
  3. ^ a b c d "Parties, Parliaments and Polling Averages: Georgia". Europe Elects.
  4. ^ a b c d Dr. Maia Urushadze; Dr. Tamar Kiknadze (2–4 July 2021). "The Relevance of the Actual Values of the Political Actors of Georgia with the Ideologies Declared by Them". Diamond Scientific Publishing.
  5. ^ [3][4]
  6. ^ "Overview of Political Alliances for Georgia's 2024 Parliamentary Elections". Georgia Today. 10 October 2024.
  7. ^ [2][3][4][6]
  8. ^ "ალეკო ელისაშვილმა "საქართველოს სამოქალაქო მოძრაობა" დააფუძნა".
  9. ^ "ალეკო ელისაშვილმა ახალი პოლიტიკური პარტია "მოქალაქეები" წარადგინა". 4 August 2020.
  10. ^ a b "2020 Georgian parliamentary election results". Archived from the original on 2021-01-04. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  11. ^ Ana Dumbadze (21 November 2020). "Opposition Boycotts 2nd Round of Elections, Their Candidates Still Remain on Ballot". Georgia Today.
  12. ^ "The Dispatch – December 11". Civil Georgia. 12 December 2020.
  13. ^ "The Dispatch – December 30". Civil Georgia. 31 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Two Citizens' MPs Strike Deal with GD, Enter Parliament". Civil Georgia. 29 January 2021.
  15. ^ "2021 Municipal Elections: Outcomes, Winners, Trends". Civil Georgia. 6 October 2021.
  16. ^ "Georgia Parliament Appoints Levan Ioseliani as Public Defender". Civil Georgia. 7 March 2023.
  17. ^ "პროფილი: ქეთევან თურაზაშვილი". Inter Press News. 27 July 1980.
  18. ^ "Georgian MP punches opponent in face in brawl over 'foreign agents' bill". The Guardian. 15 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Opposition Parties Sign Georgian Charter". Civil Georgia. 3 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Aleko Elisashvili of "Citizens" Joins Coalition "Strong Georgia"". Civil Georgia. 17 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Georgia's Political Landscape". Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. 18 October 2021.
  22. ^ Sergi Kapanadze (3 December 2023). "Anti-Western Propaganda – The Georgian Dream's All-purpose Fix". GEOpolitics journal.
  23. ^ "საარჩევნო კომპასი საპარლამენტო არჩევნები: პოლიტიკური სურათი". Geo Compass.
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