European Georgia – Movement for Liberty ევროპული საქართველო – მოძრაობა თავისუფლებისთვის | |
---|---|
Chairman | Giga Bokeria |
Secretary-General | Akaki Bobokhidze |
Chairman of the Political Council | Gigi Tsereteli |
Founders | Giga Bokeria, Gigi Tsereteli |
Founded | 13 January 2017 |
Split from | UNM |
Headquarters | Tbilisi, Barnovi str. 40 |
Ideology | |
Political position | Centre to centre-right |
European affiliation | European People's Party (observer) |
International affiliation | Centrist Democrat International |
Colours | Navy blue and red |
Parliament | 0 / 150
|
Municipal Councilors | 18 / 2,068
|
Website | |
europeangeorgia.ge | |
European Georgia (Georgian: ევროპული საქართველო, romanized: evrop'uli sakartvelo) is a political party in Georgia founded in Tbilisi in January 2017, primarily by prominent former members of the United National Movement. From 2017 to 2021 the party was chaired by Davit Bakradze.[1] Since 2021, the chairman is Giga Bokeria who was chairman of the political council from 2017 to 2021.
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Transcription
"All men are created equal and they are endowed with the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Not so fast, Mr. Jefferson! These words from the Declaration of Independence, and the facts behind them, are well known. In June of 1776, a little more than a year after the war against England began with the shots fired at Lexington and Concord, the Continental Congress was meeting in Philadelphia to discuss American independence. After long debates, a resolution of independence was approved on July 2, 1776. America was free! And men like John Adams thought we would celebrate that date forever. But it was two days later that the gentlemen in Congress voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence, largely written by Thomas Jefferson, offering all the reasons why the country should be free. More than 235 years later, we celebrate that day as America's birthday. But there are some pieces of the story you may not know. First of all, Thomas Jefferson gets the credit for writing the Declaration, but five men had been given the job to come up with a document explaining why America should be independent: Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams were all named first. And it was Adams who suggested that the young, and little known, Thomas Jefferson join them because they needed a man from the influential Virginia Delegation, and Adams thought Jefferson was a much better writer than he was. Second, though Jefferson never used footnotes, or credited his sources, some of his memorable words and phrases were borrowed from other writers and slightly tweaked. Then, Franklin and Adams offered a few suggestions. But the most important change came after the Declaration was turned over to the full Congress. For two days, a very unhappy Thomas Jefferson sat and fumed while his words were picked over. In the end, the Congress made a few, minor word changes, and one big deletion. In the long list of charges that Jefferson made against the King of England, the author of the Declaration had included the idea that George the Third was responsible for the slave trade, and was preventing America from ending slavery. That was not only untrue, but Congress wanted no mention of slavery in the nation's founding document. The reference was cut out before the Declaration was approved and sent to the printer. But it leaves open the hard question: How could the men, who were about to sign a document, celebrating liberty and equality, accept a system in which some people owned others? It is a question that would eventually bring the nation to civil war and one we can still ask today.
History
The party holds seats in the Parliament of Georgia as a result of the 2016 parliamentary election, in which its members ran as part of the opposition United National Movement (UNM). After an internal disagreement, a significant part of the UNM parliamentary caucus and leadership (including Giga Bokeria, Sergi Kapanadze and Elene Khoshtaria) broke away.[2] The breakaway entity took the largely unknown legal vehicle of a previous party whose leadership included Nugzar Tsereteli, father of Gigi Tsereteli, and had previously run in coalition with the UNM. The breakaway faction in the Parliament initially renamed itself to European Georgia, before choosing the name of Movement for Liberty-European Georgia during a presentation by Davit Bakradze on January 30, 2017. On the same date party leader Gigi Ugulava was named interim secretary general, in place until a party conference could be held.[3][4]
The party held its first convention on May 27, during which they elected Bakradze as chairman of the party, Ugulava as secretary-general, and approved the party's name as European Georgia - Movement for Liberty.[5]
Ideology
The party's economic liberal and center-right platform is virtually identical to the UNM's. The main difference between the two parties is their political strategy, with European Georgia historically being more institutional rather than activist. For instance, European Georgia in 2017 displayed a higher willingness toward contesting elections and taking part in the political process compared to the UNM which boycotted the elections.[2] This has changed recently, however, as both parties have increasingly cooperated in opposition to the ruling Georgian Dream government.
In an interview with the online news website Netgazeti, Giorgi Ugulava distinguished the Movement for Liberty as being more liberal than the UNM, specifically describing the UNM as populist and communitarian.[6]
Electoral performance
Parliamentary election
Election | Leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Government |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Davit Bakradze | 72,986 | 3.79 | 5 / 150
|
New | 3rd | Opposition |
Presidential election
Election year | Candidate | 1st round | |
---|---|---|---|
# of overall votes | % of overall vote | ||
2018 | Davit Bakradze | 174,849 | 10.97 |
Local election
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | 156,232 | 10.4 | 166 / 2,043
|
New |
2021 | 29,251 | 1.66 | 18 / 2,068
|
148 |
Seats in Municipal Assemblies
Municipal Council | Votes | % | Seats | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gurjaani | 1,045 | 3.75 (#4) | 1 / 39
|
Opposition |
Akhaltsikhe | 593 | 3.00 (#3) | 1 / 39
|
Opposition |
Aspindza | 229 | 3.40 (#3) | 1 / 30
|
Opposition |
Akhalkalaki | 977 | 5.50 (#3) | 2 / 42
|
Opposition |
Ninotsminda | 351 | 3.25 (#4) | 1 / 30
|
Opposition |
References
- ^ "UNM's Parliamentary Faction Changes its Head, Name". Civil Georgia. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ a b Civil.ge (January 12, 2017). "United National Movement Splits". Civil.ge. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ Civil.ge (January 30, 2017). "Former UNM Members Unveil Political Plans, Change Party Name". Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "Civil.Ge | Former UNM Members Unveil Political Plans, Change Party Name".
- ^ "European Georgia Selects Chairman, Secretary General, and Political Council Chair at Convention". Tabula. 27 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
- ^ "Civil.Ge | Gigi Ugulava on Past Mistakes, Political Plans, Differences between UNM, European Georgia".