2020 parliamentary elections in Georgia: Results and geographical peculiarities

• Authors: Revaz Gachechiladze , Giorgi Gogsadze

Abstracts

EN

The article aims to show the main political-geographic trends of the 2020 parliamentary elections in Georgia. The political systems of the post-Soviet counties are still imperfect and fragile. Although international observers recognised the vote results in Georgia as legitimate, many opposition parties boycotted the parliament for almost six months. It took several western officials to engage in regulating the post-election crisis. The work focuses on analysing turnout and voting patterns pointing to the changes that occurred in the last decade. A geographical study of elections enables one to identify the merits and drawbacks of the electoral process from the regional standpoint. The findings of the work underline the complexity of the election outcomes. While certain legal and political changes bring Georgia closer to European democracies, the country still lags in terms of several electoral/geographical features. 

Keywords

EN

Georgia; parliamentary elections; voter turnout; voting; election districts

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Łódzki. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
• Journal: European Spatial Research and Policy
• Year: 2021
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 211-226

Dates

published

2021

Contributors

author

Revaz Gachechiladze

• Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Department of Human Geography, 0179 Tbilisi, 1, Ilia Chavchavadze avenue, Georgia

• https://orcid.org/0000000168678289

author

Giorgi Gogsadze

• Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Department of Human Geography, 0179 Tbilisi, 1, Ilia Chavchavadze avenue, Georgia

• https://orcid.org/0000000306185299

References

• BELL, J. (2001), The political economy of reform in post-communist Poland, Cheltenham, UK; Northampton, MA: E. Elgar.
• BLAIS, A. (2006), ‘What Affect Voter Turnout?’ Annu. Rev. Polit. Sci., 9, pp. 111–25. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.9.070204.105121
• BLAIS, A. and DOBRZYNSKA, A. (1998), ‘Turnout in electoral democracies’, European Journal of Political Research, 33 (2), pp. 239–261. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.00382
• BLAIS, A. and RUBENSON, D. (2013), ‘The Source of Turnout Decline: New Values or New Contexts?’, Comparative Political Studies, 46 (1), pp. 95–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414012453032
• COMSA, M. (2017), ‘Explaining Turnout Decline in Post-Communist Countries: The Impact of Migration’, Studia UBB Sociologia, 62 (LXII), 2, pp. 29–60. https://doi.org/10.1515/subbs-2017-0010
• CORSO, M. (2013), Georgia: Low Turnout Overshadows Presidential Election. https://eurasianet.org/georgia-low-turnout-overshadows-presidential-election
• CZESNIK, M. (2006), ‘Voter Turnout and Democratic Legitimacy in Central Eastern Europe’, Polish Sociological Review, 4, pp. 449–470.
• Diverging Exit Polls Give Lead to GD (2020). http://civil.ge/archives/379162
• DOWNS, A. (1957), An Economic Theory of Democracy, New York: Harper and Row.
• Election Administration of Georgia (2021), About us: Election Administration of Georgia. https://www.cesko.ge/eng/static/1521/vin-vart-chven
• Final Report: OSCE – ODIHR (2021), Limited Election Observation Mission. Georgia Parliamentary Elections, 31 October 2020. Warsaw, May 5, 2021. https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/georgia/467364
• Georgian Election Data: 2008a. Parliamentary – Party List. https://data.electionsportal.ge/en/event_type/3/event/3/shape/30695/shape_type/1?data_type=official
• Georgian Election Data (2008), Presidential. https://data.electionsportal.ge/en
• Georgia Election Watch Report on October 31, 2020 Parliamentary Elections (2020), National Democratic Institute. https://civil.ge/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NDI-Georgia-VEAT-Statement-Nov-2-2020-ENG.pdf
• GEYS, B. (2006), ‘Explaining voter turnout: A review of aggregate-level research’, Electoral Studies, 25 (4), pp. 637–663. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2005.09.002
• GROFMAN, B. et al. (1999), ‘Rethinking the Partisan Effects of Higher Turnout: So What’s the Question?’, Public Choice, 99 (3/4), pp. 357–376. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018397327176
• INGLEHART, R. and CATTERBERG, G. (2002), ‘Trends in Political Action: The Developmental Trend and the Post-Honeymoon Decline’, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 43 (3–5), pp. 300–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/002071520204300305
• IRI polls: 33% would vote for ruling Georgian Dream, 16% for opposition party UNM (2020). Agenda.ge, 12 Aug 2020. https://agenda.ge/en/news/2020/2526
• JOHNSTON, R., MATTHEWS, S. J. and BITTNER, A. (2007), ‘Turnout and the Party System in Canada, 1988–2004’, Electoral Studies, 26 (4), pp. 735–745. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2007.08.002
• JORDAN, J. (2017), ‘The Effect of Electoral Competitiveness on Voter Turnout’, WWU Honors Program Senior Projects, 43. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwu_honors/43
• KOSTADINOVA, T. (2003), ‘Voter Turnout Dynamics in Post-Communist Europe’, European Journal of Political Research, 42 (6), pp. 741–759. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.00102
• KOSTELKA, F. (2017), ‘Distant souls: post-communist emigration and voter turnout’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43 (7), pp. 1061–1063. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2016.1227696
• KOVALCSIK, T. and NZIMANDE, N. (2019), ‘Theories of the voting behaviour in the context of electoral and urban geography’, Belvedere Meridionale, 31 (4), pp. 207–220. https://doi.org/10.14232/belv.2019.4.15
• MATSUBAYASHI, T. and WU, J. D. (2012), ‘Distributive Politics and Voter Turnout’, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, 22 (2), pp. 167–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2012.666555
• Net Migration Dynamics (2021), National Statistics Office of Georgia. https://www.geostat.ge/en/modules/categories/322/migration
• PACEK, A., POP-ELECHES, G. and TUCKER, J. (2009), ‘Disenchanted or Discerning: Voter Turnout in Post-Communist Countries’, The Journal of Politics, 71 (2), pp. 473–491. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022381609090409
• Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (2021). Progress of the Assembly’s monitoring procedure (January-December 2020) [Doc. 15211].
• Parliamentary Election Interim Report: IRI (2020). Technical Election Assessment Mission: Georgia. https://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/iri_georgia_team_interim_report.pdf
• Population and Demography (2020). National Statistics Office of Georgia. https://www.geostat.ge/en/modules/categories/316/population-and-demography
• POWER, T. J. (2009), ‘Compulsory for Whom? Mandatory Voting and Electoral Participation in Brazil, 1986–2006’, Journal of Politics in Latin America, 1 (1), pp. 97–122. https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X0900100105
• Public Attitudes in Georgia (2020). Results of December 2020 telephone survey carried out for NDI by CRRC Georgia during 17–24 December, 2020. National Democratic Institute, Tbilisi, pp. 1–65.
• Public Opinion Survey (2019). International Republican Institute – Center for Insights in Survey Research.file:///C:/Users/User/Documents/Elections/2020%20Parliament/IRI%20-20georgia _poll_ 11.18.2019 _final.pdf
• REDŽIĆ, E. and EVERETT, J. (2020), ‘Cleavages in the PostCommunist Countries of Europe: A Review’, Politics in Central Europe, 16 (1), pp. 231–258. https://doi.org/10.2478/pce-2020-0011
• REIF, K. and SCHMITT, H. (1980), ‘Nine Second-order National Elections: A Conceptual Framework for the Analysis of European Election Results’, European Journal of Political Research, 8 (1), pp. 3–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.1980.tb00737.x
• Report (2012), The Central Election Administration. The Elections of the Parliament of Georgia 2012. https://cesko.ge/res/old/other/13/13973.pdf
• Results (2016), The Central Election Administration. October 8, 2016 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia. https://archiveresults.cec.gov.ge/results/20161008/index.html
• Results (2020), The Central Election Administration. October 31, 2020 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia. https://results.cec.gov.ge/#/en-us
• RIKER, W. H. and ORDESHOOK, P.C. (1968), ‘A theory of the calculus of voting’, American Political Science Review, 62 (1), pp. 25–42. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305540011562X
• Saakashvili Declared Winner of Georgia’s Presidential Election (2004), https://www.voanews.com/archive/saakashvili-declared-winner-georgias-presidential-election-2004-01-15
• Saakashvili: Nagorno-Karabakh Sovereign Territory of Azerbaijan (2020), Georgia Today, http://georgiatoday.ge/news/22518/Saakashvili%3A-Nagorno-Karabakh-Sovereign-Territory-of-Azerbaijan
• SOLIJONOV, A. (2016), Voter Turnout Trends around the World, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/voter-turnout-trends-around-the-world.pdf
• STOCKEMER, D. (2017), ‘What Affects Voter Turnout?’, Government and Opposition, 52 (4), pp. 698–722. https://doi.org/10.1017 /gov.2016.30
• Summarizing Protocol (2008), The Central Election Commission of Georgia, Parliamentary Elections May 21, 2008. https://cesko.ge/res/old/other/8/8722.pdf
• Summarizing Protocol (2012), The Central Election Commission of Georgia, Parliamentary Elections. https://cesko.ge
• The Parliament of Georgia: Parliamentary Elections 1990, 28 October. http://www.parliament.ge/ge/
• TULLOCK, G. (1967), Towards a Mathematics of Politics, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
• VAISHNAW, M. and GUY, J. (2018), Is Higher Turnout Bad for Incumbents, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. https://carnegieendowment.org/2018/05/07/is-higher-turnout-bad-for-incumbents -pub-76238
• Voter Turnout (2008), The Election Administration of Georgia, May 21, 2008 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia. https://cesko.ge/ge/archevnebi/2008/parlamentis-archevnebi-19-ge (in Georgian)
• Voter Turnout (2012), The Election Administration of Georgia, October 1, 2012 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia. https://cesko.ge/ge/archevnebi/2012/parlamentis-archevnebi-2012-136-ge/aqtivoba-2012 (in Georgian)
• Voter Turnout (2016), The Election Administration of Georgia, October 8, 2016 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia. https://cesko.ge/en/archevnebi/2016/saqartvelos-parlamentis-archevnebi-2016/amomrchevelta-aqtivoba
• Voter Turnout (2020), The Election Administration of Georgia, October 31, 2020 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia. https://cesko.ge/en/archevnebi/2020/october-31-2020-parliamentary-elections-of-georgia/aqtivoba

Identifiers

DOI

10.18778/1231-1952.28.2.12

Biblioteka Nauki

2033947