Political situation Power struggles slowing down reforms

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People in the Freedom Square of the Georgian Capital Tbilisi during the Rose Revolution in October 2003

After the 2003 Rose Revolution, efforts began under President Mikheil Saakashvili, of the United National Movement, to implement ambitious reforms and tackle widespread corruption. Authoritarian tendencies within the government and growing dissatisfaction among the people led to a change of power in 2012, when the parliamentary elections were won by the Georgian Dream party, which had previously been in opposition. It has since won all elections, most recently the parliamentary elections in October 2020 and the local elections in October 2021. According to monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the elections in Georgia were conducted properly, albeit with minor flaws (such as allegations of intimidation and vote-buying).

After the 2020 parliamentary elections, the opposition, the United National Movement, boycotted parliament for six months in protest over allegations of electoral fraud. Following mediation efforts by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in spring 2021, the two parties agreed some initial steps towards resuming their cooperation, including a commitment to launch comprehensive reforms of electoral legislation and of the justice system. In July 2021, however, the governing party withdrew from what is called the Michel Plan, which has led to protracted political polarisation between the governing and the opposition party.