Georgia
Following Georgia's peaceful Rose Revolution in 2003, the country has made significant progress in building a more modern and democratic society. The Georgian government has been able to transform a dysfunctional state system into a more responsible and effective administration and managed to successfully boost economic growth and reduce petty corruption. However, despite the achievements of the first post-revolution years, significant democratic shortcomings remain that need to be resolved if Georgia truly wants to become the well-functioning democracy that it aspires to be.
Recent years have shown only limited progress on key issues such as media freedom, independence of the judiciary and election system reform. Furthermore, the country's political system is characterised by a polarised political discourse and a lack of plurality, with the ruling party holding an absolute majority in parliament. Within this closed, highly competitive political culture, relations between political parties and civil society organisations are strained by low levels of trust and there is little space for long-term collaboration on joint responsibilities.
With parliamentary elections to be held in 2012 followed by presidential elections in 2013, the coming years will be crucial in further supporting the consolidation of a pluralistic political culture which is based on the acceptance by all relevant stakeholders of democratic power-sharing and decision-making mechanisms.
EPD projects in Georgia
EPD is working in Georgia under the Press Freedom 2.0 Alliance, which is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The projects under this grant link media, grass roots communities and democracy support CSOs, aiming to have an impact on three different result areas (within the overall result area Civil Society Strengthening) i.e. Good governance, Capacity building of CSOs and International advocacy.
ROUNDTABLES WITH POLITICAL PARTIES AND CIVIL SOCIETY
ISSUE-BASED VOTER EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS