{"id":49868,"date":"2021-02-22T21:23:48","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T21:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=165478"},"modified":"2021-02-22T21:23:48","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T21:23:48","slug":"georgian-dream-lawmakers-ok-new-government-on-sharply-divided-caucasus-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/02\/22\/georgian-dream-lawmakers-ok-new-government-on-sharply-divided-caucasus-landscape\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgian Dream Lawmakers OK New Government On Sharply Divided Caucasus Landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Georgian Parliament has approved a new government led by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili following the surprise exit last week of a prime minister from the same ruling party angry over its handling of accusations targeting an opposition leader.<\/p>\n
Garibashvili and his proposed cabinet were supported by 89 deputies with two opposed in the 150-member parliament, where the main opposition United National Movement (ENM) and smaller parties are boycotting proceedings.<\/p>\n
The political scene for the Caucasus nation’s 4 million people has been on the brink of crisis since October elections dominated by the Georgian Dream party but that independent monitors say were marred by irregularities.<\/p>\n
The long-governing Georgian Dream named the Paris-educated Garibashvili, a former prime minister who was serving as defense minister, to replace outgoing party colleague Giorgi Gakharia.<\/p>\n
Gakharia announced his resignation as prime minister on live television on February 18 following a court ruling that ordered the arrest of Nika Melia, the head of the ENM.<\/p>\n
Gakharia had warned that Melia’s arrest could further escalate Georgia’s ongoing political crisis and polarization that “is the greatest risk for the future of our country [and] its economic development.”<\/p>\n
A Tbilisi court granted a prosecution request to place Melia in custody in a case denounced by the opposition as a political witch hunt.<\/p>\n
In the West, Georgia has been regarded as a potential role model for admittedly bruising politics but democratic trends in a region where democracy is sometimes an afterthought or worse.<\/p>\n
International observers said Georgia’s national vote in October was “competitive and, overall, fundamental freedoms were respected” but cited pervasive allegations of pressure on voters.<\/p>\n
Critics say Georgian Dream founding billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili has cemented his grip on power over the past seven years of on-again, off-again public leadership of the party.<\/p>\n
After Georgian Dream’s electoral victory in 2012, Ivanishvili served as prime minister for just over a year before returning to the private sector, though most believe he still wields unrivaled influence over Georgian politics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n