Georgia's Democracy Level Not Improving, International Rankings Show
By Malkhaz Matsaberidze
Monday, May 2, 2022
Georgia's democracy level, according to international rankings, is not improving. However, Georgia has already applied for EU membership, has already received a completed membership questionnaire, which pays significant attention to the state of democracy in the country. Unfortunately, Georgia's democratic performance in the rankings made by a number of international organizations is deteriorating from year to year, which does not create a good background for Georgia's accession to the European Union.
A few days ago, the annual report of Freedom House was published, which reviews the state of nations in transition, saying Georgia's democracy has deteriorated again. The reason for this is the breaking of the agreement of April 19, 2021, the polarization of the political spectrum of the country and the aggravation of the political crisis. According to international observers, the local elections were marred by irregularities. The ruling party also enjoys significant financial and operational advantages, which hinders electoral competition and transparency. The rating of the independence of the judiciary has also deteriorated.
Acording to a report published by The Economist Intelligence Unit on February 10, Georgia's score in the Democracy Index is deteriorating for the fourth year in a row and dropped from 10 points to 5.12 points in 2021. Georgia 2021 is the lowest in the last decade.
The downward trend of Georgia's democratic index started in 2017. Since the creation of the index in 2006, Georgia's best indicator in the Democracy Index - 5.95 points - was recorded in 2013, and the lowest - 4.59 points - in 2010. Georgia had the highest score in the Democracy Index - 5.95 - in 2013 and was ranked 78th. In 2014-2015 its score decreased slightly, but in 2016-2017 it increased to 5.93. In 2018, Georgia's score dropped sharply, dropping by 0.43 and 10 steps, from 79th to 89th place. The reason for such a sharp drop in the level of democracy was the great influence of former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili on government policy, as well as Ivanishvili's influence in the second round of the presidential election, when 600,000 citizens were promised to write off their debts.
Currently, Georgia is one of four ‘hybrid regimes’ in Eastern Europe, and it shares this category with Armenia and Ukraine - although both countries are still ahead of Georgia in the 2021 global rankings, ranking 89th and 86th, respectively, while Georgia ranks 91st. It should be noted that Moldova, who aspires to join the European Union together with Ukraine and Georgia, has significantly improved its performance. After taking the 80th place in 2020, in 2021 Moldova ranked 69th and moved from the category of ‘hybrid regime’ to the category of ‘incomplete democracy’.
The Economist Intelligence Unit describes the hybrid regime as follows: Elections are conducted with shortcomings, which impedes the freedom and fairness of elections. There is pressure from the government on the opposition. There are serious weaknesses in the political culture and the work of the government. Corruption is rampant and the rule of law is weak. Civil society is weak. Journalists are harassed and the judiciary is not independent. The human rights situation in Georgia has been significantly criticized in the 2021 Annual Report on the State of the World, published by the US Department of State.
Citizens of the country also feel the deterioration of democracy in Georgia. In January 2022, a new study by NDI was published. Every second citizen surveyed says that there is no democracy in Georgia. According to the survey, the majority of the population - 59% - say that democracy is very important. However, at the same time, 50% think that the country is not democratic. At the same time, more than a third of the population surveyed (34%) believe that Georgia used to be a good example of democracy for its neighbors, but now it is no more.
In the spring of 2022, the main opposition force, the National Movement, again plans to intensify and protest against the call for early parliamentary elections. Civic activists are joining the demand, but part of the parliamentary opposition has already distanced itself from the protests. Citizens's MP Levan Ioseliani does not see the need for early elections in the country, as there is no political crisis in the country. Paata Manjgaladze, one of the leaders of ‘Strategy Builder’, is of the same opinion, who does not agree with the demand for early elections. According to him, being in a constant revolutionary cycle is in the interests of the ‘Georgian Dream’ and the result can not be achieved by radicalizing the processes.
The polarized environment in Georgia has long been the subject of criticism from our Western friends. The same was stated by the Deputy Assistant Secretary General of NATO James Appathurai, who is visiting Georgia. NATO governments also want to see continued reforms and a less polarized political environment here; They want to see the government and the opposition work together and see that decisions are made beyond political divisions.
“There is a very polarized political environment here and I think the alliance governments are watching it closely,” Appathurai said.
It is clear what needs to be done to increase the degree of democracy in Georgia, but at this stage the chances of seeing all this in Georgia anytime soon are very low.