The Political Make-Up of Georgian Dream (Updated Oct 22)

If we combine the majoritarian lists for the Georgian Dream (GD) and the party list, then the current breakdown of the GD coalition in parliament is as follows:

The Constitutional question of Mr Ivanishvili’s eligibility for PM post due to non-citizenship was rendered moot when president Saakashvili restored the PM-elect’s the Georgian citizenship on October 16.

After the repeat elections in some precincts, Georgian Dream Coalition gained further 2 seats in the parliament (majoritarian seats in Khashuri and Signaghi constituencies, both for Georgian Dream Party), which brings their total tally to 85 MPs.

The cabinet of ministers proposed by PM-to-be Ivanishvili however has 10 MP-elects – six from the Georgian Dream party, three from the Free Democrats and one Republican. Of these 10, eight were elected through party list, which means that they will be replaced by the next person on the GD bloc list from each party (5 for GD party, 2 for FD, 1 for Republicans) once the cabinet is approved. There will be repeat election in the remaining two constituencies (one for GD and one for FD) – Samtredia and Tbilisi’s Nadzaladevi district. That bielection is scheduled for October 2013, together with the presidential election. In the meantime, Georgian parliament will have 148 sitting MPs.

Ivanishvili has also declared that he wants MP-elect Archil Kbilashvili (Bagdati majoritarian district, GD Party) to become the Prosecutor General; that decision however has to be taken by the president upon the Minister of Justice’s proposition. If Kbilashvili becomes Prosecutor General, GD will ‘lose’ one more majoritarian seat in the parliament for the coming parliamentary year.

This Georgian parliament will have six factions – three for GD Bloc (Georgian Dream, FD, Republicans) and three for UNM (UNM proper, UNM-majoritarians and UNM-regions). It is unclear whether MPs elected with other parties within GD coalition will choose to unite in one faction.

Five individuals elected as UNM majoritarians however refused to join UNM factions and pledged their independence; most probably they voted with the GD (along with at least two other unidentified MPs) when electing the new parliament speaker and the vice-speakers.

Update October 31: in Addition to the ministers, 2 elected MPs, both through the GD party list, became Deputy Ministers. They will be replaced by the 2 people further down the GD list. Kbilashvili became the Prosecutor General, therefore, GD Coalition has, at the moment, 82 sitting MPs. 

Lawmakers who will most probably join the parliament after the ministerial/deputy ministerial appointments are: Makhir Darziev, Tamaz Mechiauri, Aleksandre Tamazashvili, Tengiz Khubuluri, Otar Chrdileli, Dato Lortkipanidze, Omar Nishnianidze (GD Party); Gia Tsagareishvili, Tamaz Shioshvili (Free Democrats); Pridon Sakvarelidze (Republicans).