European Georgia – Movement for Liberty

European Georgia – Movement for Liberty ევროპული საქართველო – მოძრაობა თავისუფლებისთვის
Chairman	Vacant
Secretary-General	Akaki Bobokhidze
Chairman of the Political Council	Gigi Tsereteli
Founded	13 January 2017 (2017-01-13)
Registered	28 May 1999
Split from	UNM
Headquarters	Tbilisi, Barnovi str. 40
Ideology	Liberalism Atlanticism Pro-Europeanism
Political position	Centre-right
National affiliation	Unity – National Movement (since 2024)
European affiliation	European People's Party (observer)
International affiliation	Centrist Democrat International
Colors	Navy blue   red
Parliament	0 / 150
Municipal Councilors	18 / 2,068
Website
europeangeorgia.ge
Politics of Georgia Political parties Elections

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. From 2021 to 2024, the chairman was Giga Bokeria who was chairman of the political council from 2017 to 2021.

History

Split from United National Movement

The first chairman of European Georgia Davit Bakradze in 2016

European Georgia dates its history to 1999 when it was first registered as a political party. The party was led by Nugzar Tsereteli, father of Gigi Tsereteli, one of the founders of the party in its modern state. In the 2016 parliamentary election, European Georgia was a member of an electoral bloc led by United National Movement also titled United National Movement. Out of the 199 candidates on its electoral list five were from European Georgia, however, none got elected.

Soon after the election, UNM experienced a massive schism with 21 out of 27 elected MPs opting to leave the party after an internal conflict related to disagreements over ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili leadership. Saakashvili, questioning the legitimacy of the election, had rejected the party's decision to enter the parliament and called for not participating in the runoffs. Another cause of the rift has been Saakashvili's opposition to appoint a new chairman in his place. The group highlighted UNM's inability to deal with its controversial past and rebuild its image. Saakashvili subsequently accused the group of carrying out the agenda of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the de-facto leader of Georgian Dream.

Among the MPs who left UNM were Davit Bakradze, the leader of the parliamentary minority and UNM's candidate for the 2013 presidential election, Gigi Ugulava, former mayor of Tbilisi, and Giga Bokeria, Secretary of the National Security Council. On 30 January 2017, during a party presentation, Ugulava was named interim secretary general, until a party conference could be held. On 27 May, Bakradze was elected the chairman of the party with Ugulava becoming secretary-general.

In the 2017 local elections, European Georgia managed to become the third largest party in the country garnering 10.4% of the nationwide vote and winning 166 council seats. In the Tbilisi mayoral election Elene Khoshtaria, the party's candidate in the race, finished in the fourth place getting 7.11% of the vote. In the 2018 presidential election, the party nominated Bakradze as its nominee, who finished in the third place with 10.97% of the vote. He subsequently supported Grigol Vashadze in the runoff.

2020 parliamentary election

In the 2020 parliamentary election European Georgia finished third and received 3.79% of the vote securing 5 seats. European Georgia joined all other political parties in refusing to recognize the electoral results after allegations of voter fraud surfaced, boycotting majoritarian runoffs and entering the parliament.

Giga Bokeria, the chairman of European Georgia from 2021 to 2024

In the aftermath of the election, European Georgia started experiencing a major schism. First to leave was Khoshtaria who went on to establish her own party Droa. Next key members to leave were Bakradze and Ugulava who cited the failure of the party leadership for the disappointing election results. Bokeria was subsequently elected the chairman of the party.

The party backed negotiations with Georgian Dream facilitated by the Western countries. On March 1, 2021, President of the European Council Charles Michel launched new negotiations between Georgian Dream and the opposition to put an end to the political crisis. The sides reached an agreement on April 19, however, European Georgia itself was divided over the issue. The party decided not to sign the deal, which caused Tariel Nakaidze to quit European Georgia and enter the parliament as an independent MP.

Due to major defections, European Georgia lost significant support in the 2021 local elections. The party's nationwide vote share fell to 1.66%, losing 90% of its councillors.

2024 parliamentary election

Gigi Tsereteli, the current leader of European Georgia

European Georgia supported the protests held in 2023 against the introduction of the 'Foreign Agent Law' and once again in 2024 after its reintroduction and adoption. The party subsequently signed the Georgian Charter initiated by the president Salome Zourabichvili that sets out goals for a possible future government. For the 2024 parliamentary election, the party at first tried forming a political coalition with Ahali and Lelo, however, once those attempts failed, it turned against joining any bloc, which caused controversy in the wider opposition as the risk of the party falling below the 5% threshold and wasting votes was raised.

On 1 August 2024, European Georgia experienced its latest split, with Bokeria and his wife Tamar Chergoleishvili, along with their supporters, leaving the party over disagreements on the way the party primary was conducted. The majority of the party's electoral list (24 out of 37 members), which was based off on the results of the primary, decided to leave the party and follow Bokeria and Chergoleishvili. On August 15, the former members of European Georgia, announced the establishment of a new political party called the "Federalists". 2 days later the rump European Georgia party announced it was joining the UNM-led Unity – to Save Georgia coalition.

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. 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.

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