Georgia

Abstract

Georgia's ruling coalition swept to an overwhelming victory in municipal elections in 2014 amid some concerns of pre-election pressure on opposition candidates and violence. Investigations into past abuses continued to raise some questions regarding selective justice and politically motivated prosecutions. Lack of accountability for abuses committed by law enforcement remained a problem. Other areas of concern include minority and women rights.Georgia deepened its ties with the European Union by signing and ratifying the Association Agreement that is closely tied to progress in governance and human rights.The ruling Georgian Dream party won an overwhelming victory in local municipal elections in June and July, giving it full control of all the executive branches of local self-governing bodies across the country, as well as a majority of seats in local councils. Domestic election observers noted some technical flaws and procedural irregularities during the vote, but claimed these had no effect on the overall outcome.During the pre-election period, however, media and nongovernmental groups (NGOs) reported multiple allegations of pressure on opposition candidates to withdraw their candidacies, including actual withdrawals in more than a dozen municipalities, disruption of opposition gatherings, and several episodes of violence against candidates’ campaigners. In June, the Chief Prosecutor's Office said that it had launched criminal investigations into four cases out of 80 complaints they received related to alleged pressure on opposition candidates.Violent incidents included mobs disrupting the opposition United National Movement's (UNM) campaign events in four cities and towns in April, and an attack by unidentified assailants in March on Nugzar Tsiklauri, an outspoken UNM MP who was briefly hospitalized for minor injuries. In May, several men attacked Zurab Chiaberashvili, a former health minister and leading UNM member; Chiaberashvili was briefly hospitalized for head injuries.