I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4258 

To ensure free, fair, and competitive elections in the Republic of Georgia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 26, 2012 

Mr. MCDERMOTT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To ensure free, fair, and competitive elections in the Republic 

of Georgia. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Republic of Georgia 

5 Democracy Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) A democratic and stable Republic of Geor9 gia is in the political, security, and economic inter10 ests of the United States. 


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1 (2) Georgia plays a key role in the security of 

2 the Black Sea and South Caucasus region, which is 

3 important for Euro-Atlantic security, transportation, 

4 and energy diversification to and from the Caspian 

5 Sea. 

6 (3) Georgia has been a reliable partner and ally 

7 in enhancing global peace and stability with its sig8 nificant contribution to operations in Iraq and Af9 ghanistan. 

10 (4) The United States–Georgia Charter on 

11 Strategic Partnership, signed in January 2009, out12 lines the importance of the bilateral relationship as 

13 well as the intent of both countries to expand de14 mocracy and economic programs, enhance defense 

15 and security cooperation, further trade and energy 

16 cooperation, and build people-to-people cultural ex17 changes. 

18 (5) Georgia’s democratic nature is one of its 

19 core strengths and the basis for the deep friendship 

20 between Georgia and the United States. As such, 

21 continued democratic reform, the strength of Geor22 gia’s democratic institutions, and regular free, fair, 

23 and competitive elections are key priorities for a 

24 strong continuing relationship between the United 

25 States and Georgia. 


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1 (6) Democracy in Georgia is facing serious 

2 challenges and political freedom and fair competition 

3 between political parties is under assault. For exam4 ple, the government has increased detaining mem5 bers of the political opposition and civil society non6 governmental organizations (NGOs), limited freedom 

7 of the press, undermined the right of workers to or8 ganize and bargain collectively, and stopped opposi9 tion groups from holding demonstrations—often by 

10 violent means. 

11 (7) According to the Department of State’s 

12 2010 Human Rights Report on Georgia, when Presi13 dent Mikheil Saakashvili was re-elected to the Presi14 dency in 2008, ‘‘the OSCE identified significant 

15 problems, including widespread allegations of intimi16 dation and pressure, flawed vote-counting and tab17 ulation processes, and shortcomings in the com18 plaints and appeals process. These and other prob19 lems continued into the parliamentary elections in 

20 May 2008, which international observers concluded 

21 were uneven and incomplete in their adherence to 

22 international standards.’’. 

23 (8) On February 13, 2012, United Nations 

24 Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of 

25 Peaceful Assembly and Association Maina Kiai conVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:58 Mar 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4258.IH H4258

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1 cluded at the end of his visit to Georgia that the 

2 previous positive trajectory of the country was being 

3 replaced with a ‘‘widespread climate of fear, intimi4 dation and arbitrary restrictions of fundamental 

5 freedoms.’’ He identified multiple problems, includ6 ing with the way in which the government under7 mined political parties and NGOs, such as pros8 ecuting and detaining political activists with little to 

9 no evidence. Furthermore, he noted, ‘‘there have 

10 been long standing concerns—by regional bodies and 

11 the UN—about the inability to distinguish between 

12 the ruling party and the state, which is especially 

13 relevant in light of the upcoming parliamentary and 

14 presidential elections.’’. 

15 (9) Georgia will hold parliamentary elections in 

16 October 2012. In the run-up to the election, Geor17 gian President Mikheil Saakashvili and the Georgian 

18 Parliament enacted constitutional changes that re19 duce the power of the president and increase the 

20 power of the prime minister. 

21 (10) Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s 

22 presidential term ends in 2013 and it has been re23 ported that he plans to assume the role of Prime 

24 Minister if his political party, United National MoveVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:58 Mar 27, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4258.IH H4258

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1 ment (UNM), wins the majority of the seats in the 

2 Parliament, which it currently has. 

3 (11) Bidzina Ivanishvili, a Georgian business4 man who has never served in the Georgian Govern5 ment, launched a new political party called Georgian 

6 Dream, on October 5, 2011, in an effort to unify the 

7 Georgian opposition parties and challenge 

8 Saakashvili’s increasingly dictatorial control over 

9 Georgia’s government. 

10 (12) In response to the creation of Georgian 

11 Dream, Mikheil Saakashvili’s regime stripped 

12 Bidzina Ivanishvili of his citizenship despite the fact 

13 that Mikheil Saakashvili granted Ivanishvili’s citizen14 ship in the first place, Ivanishvili was born in Geor15 gia, and there is no legal basis for his citizenship to 

16 be revoked. 

17 (13) Since the launch of Georgian Dream, the 

18 Saakashvili regime has launched a concerted, ag19 gressive campaign to undermine Georgian Dream’s 

20 ability to compete against Saakashvili’s party in the 

21 Parliamentary elections. For example, the Georgian 

22 Government has fired those employees, especially 

23 teachers, who support Ivanishvili or other opposition 

24 parties. 


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1 (14) The Georgian Government has increased 

2 harassment and detention of the supporters of 

3 Ivanishvili, Georgian Dream and other opposition 

4 parties, often through violent means, without due 

5 process. Hundreds of opposition supporters have 

6 been detained in March 2012 as part of a concerted 

7 effort to intimidate voters and opposition cam8 paigners. 

9 (15) On February 27, 2011, Solomon 

10 Kimeridze, an Ivanishvili supporter, died under sus11 picious circumstances while in police custody. 

12 (16) On May 26, 2011, Georgian security offi13 cials killed two protesters while using violent means 

14 to break-up a peaceful protest. An investigation into 

15 this incident has been requested by United States 

16 Ambassador Robert Bass, the United Nations High 

17 Commissioner for Human Rights, the European 

18 Commission, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty 

19 International. 

20 (17) On December 28, 2011, the Georgian Par21 liament passed new election laws that will limit op22 position parties’ access to funds. The OSCE and the 

23 U.S. State Department criticized this law for both 

24 its substance and the abnormal way in which it was 

25 enacted by the Saakashvili-controlled parliament. 


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1 Furthermore, the Chamber of Control, the state 

2 audit agency that is controlled by Saakashvili, cre3 ated a new division specifically focused on inves4 tigating Georgian Dream and Bidzina Ivanishvili 

5 and blocking Ivanishvili’s financial support for oppo6 sition candidates and party building. 

7 (18) United Nations Special Rapporteur on the 

8 Right to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Asso9 ciation Maina Kiai concluded that these changes to 

10 the election law ‘‘appear to affect the rights to asso11 ciation and to peaceful assembly . . . these amend12 ments, which at times use ambiguous language, are 

13 fuelling an overall climate of distrust, and appear to 

14 largely violate international human rights law.’’. 

15 (19) The Saakashvili regime has warped the 

16 Georgian banking sector, previously a model of post17 Soviet success and transparency, in an effort to de18 stroy Bank Cartu, a bank owned by Bidzina 

19 Ivanishvili. Based on a law passed at the end of Oc20 tober 2011 after Ivanishvili announced the creation 

21 of Georgian Dream, the Georgian Government seized 

22 over millions of dollars in bank assets. The Amer23 ican Chamber of Commerce criticized this new law, 

24 predicted that it would undermine a model banking 

25 system that has been built with the support of the 


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1 United States Government, IMF, and World Bank. 

2 The Georgian Government has only applied this new 

3 law, which gives the Government the right to seize 

4 loan collateral before the banks that issued the loan, 

5 to Bank Cartu and no other banks. As a result, the 

6 Saakashvili regime continues to seize Bank Cartu 

7 assets in an effort to force the bank out of business 

8 and remove a source of Ivanishvili’s financial sup9 port. 

10 (20) United States national security interests 

11 are best served by a democratic Georgia no matter 

12 what individuals and which parties are in control of 

13 the country. An undemocratic Georgia will breed in14 stability in a volatile region and increase the likeli15 hood of violent conflict. As such, it is incumbent on 

16 the United States Government to clearly commu17 nicate to President Saakashvili that if he continues 

18 down his current path and does not allow free, fair, 

19 and competitive elections, the special relationship be20 tween the United States and Georgia will be at risk 

21 and Georgia will face the loss of both United States 

22 political support and financial assistance. 


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1 SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE TO THE REPUBLIC OF 

2 GEORGIA. 

3 (a) LIMITATION.—No funds available to any United 

4 States department or agency for fiscal year 2013 may be 

5 used to provide assistance to the Republic of Georgia until 

6 the Secretary of State certifies and reports to the Com7 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 

8 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

9 that the parliamentary elections held in October 2012 or 

10 such other date if rescheduled were carried out in a free, 

11 fair, and competitive manner consistent with international 

12 standards. 

13 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re14 quired under subsection (a) shall include information on— 

15 (1) the presence and findings of election observ16 ers; 

17 (2) the ability of opposition parties to campaign 

18 effectively; and 

19 (3) whether Bidzina Ivanishvili and the Geor20 gian Dream Party participated in the election, and, 

21 if not, the reason for their absence. 

Æ 


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