Reports

Following the 2021 municipal elections, the ruling party lost a majority in Sakrebulos of some self-governing entities. These are the following municipalities: self-governing cities – Rustavi and Batumi, self-governing communities – Zugdidi, Senaki, Martvili, Chkhorotsku, and Tsalenjikha. In these self-governing entities neither the ruling party, nor any individual opposition party was able to secure a majority of mandates. As a result, cooperation between the parties and possibility of reaching agreements, including on issues related to election of officials, was high on the agenda.

 

Georgia lacks experience of any meaningful cooperation between the authorities and the opposition within representative bodies at different levels of governance. In addition, self-government elections are usually perceived as an extension of parliamentary elections and part of the power consolidation efforts, rather than an event that reflects the needs of local population, which is reflected in an election campaign content and election results. Local bodies therefore consider themselves accountable before the central authorities, rather than local population, because they view the former as the source of their power. Confrontation instead of cooperation between the parties has essentially become the rule, with only few exceptions.

 

 

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