The parliamentary and executive elections in the Republic of Georgia, 2012

The 2012 elections in the Republic of Georgia figure among the most momentous events in the history of this country, if not of the entire post-Soviet region. Fourteen parties and two electoral blocs competed in the race to gain a parliamentary majority which, in this semi-presidential system, also determines the composition of the cabinet. But the showdown was entirely one between the ruling party, the disciplined 'United National Movement' (UNM) under President Mikhail Saakashvili, and the opposition bloc 'Georgian Dream' (GD), a heterogeneous coalition of six parties led by billionaire-turned-politician Bidzina Ivanishvili. On 1 October, contrary to widespread expectations and for the first time ever, a Georgian opposition force democratically secured a majority: GD obtained 85 and UNM 65 seats of a total of 150, i.e. 56.7% and 43.3%, respectively. Despite prior fears that the plurality tier would unduly favour the ruling party, the mixed nature of the electoral system ended up overrepresenting both the opposition and the governing party, GD having gained 'only' 54.97% and UNM 40.3% of the vote in the proportional contest (CEC, 2012). No other party/bloc cleared the threshold of 5% in the proportional tier, nor did any other contender (party or coalition) win any of the plurality races. With the confirmation by parliament of Ivanishvili as new Prime Minister (PM) on 25 October 2012, Georgia entered its first ever phase of cohabitation, given that the president remains the official leader of the UNM. Such cohabitation is a first in the whole post-Soviet space-the 2012 Georgian elections thus may acquire the status of a regional precedent for either effective and democratic power sharing, at best, or inter-executive stalemate, at worst. [Copyright Elsevier Ltd.]