Girchi

Girchi ( ka, გირჩი, tr, ) is a liberal and libertarian political party in Georgia. It emphasizes economic liberalism and fiscal conservatism, and describes itself as "a pro-Western, centrist party — culturally liberal and fiscally conservative — created to promote democratic values", and a supporter of Atlanticism and pro-Europeanism. In regards to the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia, it promises to lift COVID-19-related restrictions, while calling on everyone to observe hygienic norms. Girchi supports more private sector involvement in both healthcare and environment protection, advocating for deregulation and the removal of prohibition laws that protects the environment but that according to the party have the opposite effect.

The party was established in November 2015 after four lawmakers (Zurab Japaridze, Pavle Kublashvili, Goga Khachidze, and Giorgi Meladze) quit the right-leaning former ruling and then-parliamentary minority party United National Movement. Chaired by Iago Khvichia, Girchi promotes itself as being open to youth willing to participate in politics. It is the first Georgian online party that rejected a standard party structure and methods of political struggle by selecting Facebook as the main hub of its activities and as a platform of communication. In December 2020, it underwent a split with the formation of Girchi — More Freedom.

History

Foundation and growth

The origins of Girchi date back to May 2015 when four members of Parliament, Zurab Japaridze, Pavle Kublashvili, Goga Khachidze, and Giorgi Meladze, left the United National Movement to establish what they called a "new and open political center meant to attract and engage professionals in the political process". The MPs' departure from UNM was seen as the first major division of what was at the time the largest opposition party in Parliament, with Japaridze (who served until his departure as Executive Secretary of UNM) criticizing the party for "failing to renew itself and win back the public's confidence", hinting at the continued influence of former President Mikheil Saakashvili in the organization's internal affairs. Within the first months of its creation, Girchi became one of the best-funded parties in Georgia, surpassing the fundraising numbers of even the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Girchi sought to position itself as a new political force in Georgia, opposing both Georgian Dream and the United National Movement by proposing a libertarian political ideology rooted in drastic spending cuts and tax reductions. It also received criticism from both of those parties, with UNM purchasing the ''Girchi.ge'' domain name before the party could register it officially. It opened its first office in Kutaisi (then-political capital of Georgia) on 5 November 2015 and was officially registered as a political party on 16 April 2016. Its first chairman was Zurab Japaridze.

To increase its political perspectives, Girchi joined forces during the 2016 parliamentary election with other center-right parties, including New Georgia and New Rights, forming the New Choice coalition. That electoral bloc eventually joined the State for the People coalition, a well-financed bloc led by opera singer Paata Burchuladze, with Japaridze calling for "common ground" between pro-Western political parties. The SFP bloc's campaign platform was centered around promoting individual and economic liberties and a pro-Western foreign policy. Though Girchi had five of its nominees included in the bloc's electoral list, it withdrew from the coalition two weeks before Election Day and removed its nominees from SFP's list after Japaridze accused the bloc of "blackmailing" the party. Despite abstaining from the 2016 election and losing its four MPs whose terms ended that year, Girchi vowed to stay active and fight for its ideology. Pavle Kublashvili, one of Girchi's founding MPs, left the party and politics shortly after the election.

The party refused to take part in the 2017 local elections, protesting what it claimed was fraudulent submissions of party registration petition signatures by other political organizations. In an example of political satire, the party submitted 28,000 fake petition signatures, which the Central Election Commission claimed to have verified all in one day. In 2018, Zurab Japaridze was the party's nominee for President of Georgia, while libertarian attorney Iago Khvichia became the party's chairman. Throughout the presidential election, Japaridze ran on a platform he would call "More Freedom" and pledged to challenge the "centers of political power", including the Georgian Orthodox Church, the banking system, the Government of Georgia, and the political opposition. Japaridze was the first candidate nominated by Girchi independently and won 2.3% of the vote, ending in sixth position out of 25 presidential candidates, while his results among the Georgian diaspora were considerably stronger, reaching 5.7%. Japaridze refused to endorse either Salome Zourabichvili or Grigol Vashadze in the subsequent runoffs. In the post-electoral State Audit of party financing, Girchi refused to submit its records, arguing that Georgian Dream had violated electoral law by facilitating the clearing of private debts to hundreds of thousands of voters days before the election. Girchi's electoral result improved during the 2019 special parliamentary election in Mtatsminda, with party nominee Herman Szabo receiving 4.8% of the votes.

Girchi distinguished itself with its activism, both popular and legal, to promote libertarian principles. In July 2018, Zurab Japaridze and fellow Girchi official Vakhtang Megrelishvili filed a lawsuit against Article 45 of the Administrative Code which made cannabis possession and consumption a criminal offense, arguing its incompatibility with the Georgian Constitution's 16th Article. The lawsuit led to the Constitutional Court declaring unconstitutional all sanctions for the use and possession of recreational cannabis, effectively making Georgia the first post-Soviet republic to legalize marijuana, a result that was largely criticized by the government and the Georgian Orthodox Church. In November 2018, a group of Girchi activists made headlines by pulling down their pants in front of Russian military forces stationed in South Ossetia, which led to the criticism of the State Security Service's director Grigol Liluashvili, who said of the activists that "none of them have served in the army, for a Georgian man would not have pulled his pants down and shown his backside to the enemy."

Zurab Japaridze and other party activists would be regularly arrested over the years, including during the 2018 Georgian protests calling for drug policy reform and the 2019 demonstrations in favor of electoral reform. In October 2018, the party organized the Cannabis Festival in Tbilisi which would be broken up by the police. Several other party activists would be arrested in April 2020 when they held a brief rally against COVID-related restrictions despite the public lockdown.

During the political crisis of 2019–2020, Girchi coalesced with other opposition parties and took part in joint opposition negotiations mediated by the Labour Party over a common strategy to challenge the government. As such, it was a party to the 8 March 2020 agreement between the opposition and the government, which led to partial electoral reform but eventually failed over President Zourabichvili's refusal to pardon opposition activist Giorgi Rurua. In the 2020 parliamentary election, the party fielded its own electoral list and its own nominees in Batumi, Poti, Rustavi, and Khashuri, although it was one of 30 opposition signatories to an agreement that created an "anti-Georgian Dream electoral coalition", while Japaridze was endorsed by other opposition parties as nominee for the Didube-Chughureti parliamentary district. Girchi also led a campaign to convince other opposition parties to sign on various libertarian pledges, including judicial, law enforcement, economic, and educational reforms. The party organized several acts of protests during the 2020 elections, including by unsuccessfully seeking a Constitutional Court ruling against gender-based electoral quotas and by pledging to raffle off Tesla cars to its voters in an attempt to criticize the public funding of political parties.

Girchi won 2.9% of the vote in 2020, becoming the third most popular party in Tbilisi and winning four parliamentary seats. However, it originally refused to recognize the electoral results and joined the boycottof majoritarian runoffs announced by the other opposition parties.

Split and parliamentary party

In the aftermath of the 2020 election and under the leadership of Zurab Japaridze, Girchi strongly supported the boycott of the 10th Convocation of Parliament and the large-scale protests organized in opposition to Georgian Dream's victory, with Japaridze openly calling for repeat elections. On 3 November, the party was one of 19 to sign a declaration of intent to renounce their parliamentary mandates. However, Japaridze announced his departure from the party on 4 December over internal struggles that Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty called "not unexpected". Many observers linked Japaridze's exit to controversial comments made by party chairman Khvichia against criminal prosecution for individuals watching illegal video footage, although Japaridze denied those to comments as the cause of the party's split. Reports eventually revealed long-standing conflicts within the party over some of its leaders' management style, while the party would evaluate the departure of its founder as a "victory against one-man rule of political parties in Georgia." Zurab Japaridze would create a new libertarian party, Girchi – More Freedom, while the original party was largely led by Iago Khvichia and Vakhtang Megrelishvili.

Following Japaridze's departure, Girchi walked back its pledge to renounce its parliamentary mandates, instead openly supporting negotiations with the government. The party became known as a "less radical" opposition group that sought an alliance with the Citizens party to reach a deal with Georgian Dream over new parliamentary elections if the ruling party were to receive less votes in the 2021 local elections than in 2020, a proposal originally brushed off by most opposition parties but eventually incorporated into the 19 April 2021 Agreement that brought an end to the boycott, that was negotiated by European Council President Charles Michel, and which was first signed by Girchi itself. When the government cancelled the 19 April deal weeks later, Girchi leaders remained in Parliament, refusing the call by other opposition parties to resume their boycott.

Girchi fielded no mayoral nominees in the 2021 local elections, instead fielding lists for the proportional Municipal Assembly races. Its results collapsed under 1% and experts have linked the fall in the party's support to the establishment of a new party by Japaridze and the lack of media coverage that came with having no mayoral nominee. The party managed to win one seat in the Abasha Municipal Assembly.

Girchi currently holds four seats in Parliament and is represented by Iago Khvichia, Vakhtang Megrelishvili, Sandro Rakviashvili, and Herman Szabo. As a parliamentary party, it caucuses with the opposition and has stated its main priority was electoral reform, backing a fully-proportional, no-threshold election in 2024. Khvichia was elected to the Prosecutorial Council of Georgia in 2021 and was a failed candidate for the position of Public Defender in 2022. On 11 March 2023, Girchi organized a large-scale public protest against government attempts to expand military conscription.

Name and symbols

The party's name ''Girchi'' is Georgian for conifer cone (გირჩი), a name that carries several symbolic meanings. In the first place, the Nordmann fir is a species endemic to the South Caucasus, making pine cones a common sight to Georgia. In addition, conifer cones have traditionally been associated with resurrection and new energy (representing the pineal gland in ancient Egypt, enlightenment in Assyria, illumination in the Christian world), which ties in with the party's positioning as an innovative new force in Georgian politics.

Girchi's logo is a dark green conifer cone and has become one of the most well-recognized political logos in the Georgian political scene. Wordless stickers featuring the logo can be found across the streets of Tbilisi, as party activists regularly choose them instead of more traditional campaign banners during electoral periods. The party's electoral number was 36 during the 2020 parliamentary and 2021 local elections, which is regularly featured in party literature. The party also carries a flag featuring its logo.

Upon its creation, the party was officially registered as "New Political Center – Girchi", showcasing the party's claim to be a centrist new political party. Since 2020, it has been registered only as "Girchi". It should not be confused with another libertarian political party called "Girchi – More Freedom", created in 2021. The latter was created by Girchi's original founder Zurab Japaridze, who legally changed his name in 2018 to "Zurab Girchi Japaridze".

Structure and composition

Constitution

Girchi's governing document is its constitution, which was drafted by a constitutional group and adopted in 2021. The document is described as a "public declaration of values and a contract between citizens." Defining the party's main values, including individual liberty, private property, absolute free speech, and contractual rights, it outlines its opposition to the state as a "violent organization that can only be justified to prevent further violence". The document prohibits party members from supporting measures that "restrict individual freedoms". Its preamble states:

Girchi's constitution outlines a system of conflict resolution between party members, a clause that was seen as necessary after the party's 2020 split. Amendments to the document can be proposed by the Governing Council, or by joint decision of the party's King and High Priest, and need to be approved through a majority vote of GeD shareholders.

The constitution outlines elections for seats on the party's Governing Council and for placement on its proportional electoral list, through the 1 GeD = 1 vote formula. All votes are held online. This system is unique for the Georgian political spectrum, with national parties traditionally characterized by low levels of intra-party democracy.

Governing council

Girchi is led by the party's chairman (Iago Khvichia since 2018) and the Governing Council, a decision-making body in place since 2019 and made of 16 members (five politicians elected through internal elections, the five highest GeD holders, and the six largest donors over the six months preceding the council's election). The council is elected "within adequate time" of every parliamentary and local election.

Since the 2020 split, the party's governing documents provide for a "King" and a "High Priest" to administer the organization "in cases of emergency", a tongue-in-cheek system that has never been used but is meant to provide an alternative if the Governing Council is in deadlock. Formally, the "King" of Girchi is MP Herman Szabo, while the High Priest is the head of the Church of Biblical Freedom, Levan Jgerenaia. If this measure is activated, the two are supposed to make joint decisions that are not subject to appeal and that are binding for every party member. The two positions are lifetime appointments, while the party's Constitution provides for their abolition "after long and successful reigns."

Georgian Dollar

The Georgian dollar (signed GeD) is a cryptocurrency emitted by Girchi as a "political currency", the purchase of which implies support for the legalization of cannabis and for a multi-currency regime, as well as recognition of the party's constitution as a binding document. The currency claims to be backed by "both tangible and intangible assets", including state funding of political parties, while its security relies on its transparency, all transactions being public and downloadable. Girchi has asserted that if it were to come to power, it would use the cryptocurrency as a tool to privatize public property across the population.

The GeD's value is established at 0.01 USD, which is set to remain the same as long as the party remains in the opposition. Its total circulation is scheduled to be 50 billion units, while 2.9% has been emitted as of March 2023. GeD holders have the right to request refunds, while each GeD allows an individual one vote in internal party business, including primary and governing council elections.

Church of Biblical Freedom

In March 2017, Girchi created the Christian, Evangelical, Protestant Church of Georgia, also known as the Church of Biblical Freedom. Its purpose was to use a military conscription loopholes allowing people to evade service if in a religious position. The Church has since then been officially registered with the Ministry of Justice and claims having helped close to 50,000 young men avoid conscription (although the Ministry of Defense has disputed those numbers and estimated 12,000 conscription evaders only). While some have argued that the entity was not a legitimate religion, some its leaders have argued that it falls within the definition of an established religion and holds a concrete faith that can be associated with Christian anarchism. Individuals that seek to be ordained as priests of the Biblical Freedom Church are asked to donate 50 lari to the organization.

Its first "High Priest" was Nikoloz Oboladze. The current Church leader is Levan Jgerenaia ("Levan I").

Despite receiving legal recognition, public authorities have been highly critical of its activities. Former Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze called it a "threat to national security", while Defense and Security Committee chairman Irakli Sesiashvili called its actions "wrong and unjustifiable". As Minister of Defense, Irakli Gharibashvili called the Church a "disaster" and pledged to curtail it. Several opposition groups, including the United National Movement and European Georgia, have backed its existence and the use of the legal loophole. In April 2018, the pro-Russian Alliance of Patriots introduced a bill backed by the majority that would have banned insults to religion and was meant to target Girchi's religious arm. In April 2017, the Agency of Religious Affairs requested a list of personal data of its clergymen, a move that was condemned by civil society. Georgian Dream would eventually pass a bill reforming military conscription by criminalizing evasion through "forms of deception", although the requirements did not directly impact Girchi. In March 2023, the Parliament is considering a bill that would close the religious loophole for conscription, except for members of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

In February 2021, the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church denied communions, baptism, marriage, and funeral rights to those who had been ordained as priests of the Biblical Freedom Church, a move that proved controversial. In 2019, the Girchi organization issued an anathema against then-Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani and Public Development Agency Director Soso Giorgadze for their attempts to close down the church.

Ideology and positioning

Girchi is a classical liberal and libertarian political party that centers its ideology on economic and social liberalism and fiscal conservatism. It is a strictly minarchist party that calls itself pro-Western, Atlanticist, and pro-European. Sometimes described in national news media as a "right-wing" or "right-libertarian" party, it advocates for the abolition of income, profit, and import taxes and supports drastic cuts in public spending, most notably by abolishing entire ministries. It has also been called a "youth-based right-wing party" with a central focus on drug policy reform. Several of the positions it has pioneered, including the legalization of cannabis, have become widespread due to national developments, such as the White Noise Movement. Because of the perceived lack in ideological differences between traditional political parties in Georgia, Girchi was described upon its foundation as the "fist political party based on a proper ideology".

Some political analysts have observed that the party's original name, "New Political Center", had little to do centrism as an ideology, instead being an attempt by the organization to position itself as an alternative to the two largest parties dominating Georgian politics, Georgian Dream (GD) and the United National Movement (UNM). Girchi has regularly been the target of criticism by both sides, with Georgian Dream successive chairmen Bidzina Ivanishvili and Irakli Kobakhidze calling it a "satellite" of UNM in 2016 and 2020 respectively, while other parties have alleged secretive ties between Girchi and Georgian Dream. In 2016, State for the People claimed that Girchi's then-leader Zurab Japaridze was seeking financial help from the ruling GD, while UNM alleged in 2020 that Girchi would seek to form a coalition with GD following the legislative elections of that year.

Girchi has denied any ties with other political parties and was a signatory of a 30-party agreement in 2020 that pledged a joint strategy against the government. In Parliament, it caucuses with the parliamentary opposition. In April 2022, party chairman Iago Khvichia was quoted as saying that "no one is left in the world that thinks everything is in order in Georgia in terms of democracy," indicating his strong disapproval of GD's governance. However, seeking to distance itself from UNM, it refused to endorse the prime ministerial bid of former President Mikheil Saakashvili in 2020, with party leadership calling him a "power-hungry man", while Khvichia would call on Saakashvili to apologize publicly for human rights violations during his presidency and to abandon politics. Khvichia also visited Saakashvili since the latter's detention, obtaining from the former head of state a statement denying ties between Girchi and GD, while Khvichia called for his release. The party has backed the idea of establishing an investigative commission on Saakashvili's treatment in prison. In February 2023, Khvichia called UNM a party "in the midst of self-destruction", referring to the latter's decision to boycott parliamentary activities.

Analysts have noted a shift in approach towards the political spectrum since the exit of Zurab Japaridze in the party, the remaining leadership favoring compromise and dialogue with the authorities while the split party GMF has aligned itself with other opposition parties and has promoted more radical ideas of "revolution" and public protests. As such, it was one of few parties to agree to join legislative working groups set up to adopt reforms in line with the European Commission's recommendations in 2022, although criticizing GD's decision to exclude some non-governmental organizations. Some of its MPs voted in 2021 for the election of GD's Shalva Papuashvili as Speaker of Parliament. On August 4, 2022, it co-authored a declaration with the liberal Citizens party, calling for the withdrawal of Mikheil Saakashvili from politics and the return of GD's Bidzina Ivanishvili as Prime Minister.

Throughout the 2020-2021 political crisis, Girchi stood out as backing direct negotiations with the authorities to end the impasse that was created following the declaration of a parliamentary boycott by the opposition in protest of alleged voter fraud, an allegation that the party distanced itself from after Japaridze's split. While originally positioning itself as a potential mediator between the various parties, it also proposed GD a deal in which it would end its own boycott in exchange for legislative reform either on the electoral system, cannabis legalization, multi-currency regime, school choice, or decentralization of law enforcement. While that deal was not finalized, Girchi proposed a way out of the crisis by making the 2021 local elections a referendum on potential repeat legislative polls, an idea originally rejected but eventually included in the European Union-negotiated political agreement signed by the parties on April 19, 2021.

In Parliament, Girchi has often associated itself with the Citizens party and has been one of the political groups most likely to reject the remaining opposition's calls for boycotts and protests. It rejected a 2021 proposal by Lelo for Georgia to form a shadow opposition coalition government and has said at times that European Georgia, another self-proclaimed liberal party, would be violent if it came to power. It has consistently refused to endorse candidates of other parties, even though GMF has regularly formed electoral coalitions with small parties. Girchi supports holding a primary for opposition parties to field candidates in 2024.

Size and influence

2018 presidential performance

The only presidential campaign that has coincided with the existence of Girchi is the 2018 race in which the party's nominee was Zurab Japaridze. The latter was selected unanimously by party leaders and announced his candidacy on April 16. As a presidential candidate, he pledged to abolish military conscription, pardon people serving drug-related prison sentences, hold ministerial meetings streamed on social media platforms, veto "every bill that limits freedom", and double defense spending by 2024.

Japaridze's campaign efforts were notable for their unorthodox and innovative strategies, many of which were done in an attempt to gather media attention. He legally changed his name to become "Zurab Girchi Japaridze". His party posted ads on the pornographic website PornHub, while his campaign refused monetary donations. He reportedly raised only 33 GEL throughout his campaign, although he largely relied on non-monetary contributions. Most of his activity was done online, focusing on younger audiences through social media platforms. Days before the election, Japaridze hosted the Tbilisi Cannabis Festival, an act of civil disobedience, which resulted in his arrest.

Though he was excluded from most opinion polls, Zurab Japaridze polled 2-5% when his name was listed among presidential candidates. He ultimately won 2.26% (36,034 votes), finishing in sixth place and then refusing to endorse anyone in the runoffs.

Girchi's results were the strongest in the wealthiest neighborhoods of Tbilisi, including Vake (8.6%), Saburtalo (7.3%), Mtatsminda (7.1%), and Didube (7%), districts where he ended in third place. Japaridze also did considerably better among Georgians living abroad, winning 5.7% and finishing in fourth place. On the other hand, his lowest scores were in districts with a minority-majority population, winning less than 0.3% in Akhalkalaki, Marneuli, Ninotsminda, Khulo, Dmanisi, and Bolnisi. He also won less than 1% of the vote in several regions, including Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti.

Parliamentary results

The first parliamentary election Girchi took part in was the June 2019 special election for the Mtatsminda Majoritarian District, in which the party nominated young media manager Herman Szabó. That race was one of the most crowded in Georgian legislative election history, with 20 candidates throwing their hats in the race, while Girchi sought to build on the support it had won during the preceding presidential election. Continuing at the time the civil disobedience-based campaigns the party became known for, Girchi encouraged party members to register to vote in the district despite warnings by the Ministry of Justice. It also suggested it would openly bribe voters through GeD grants, in protest of alleged voter bribery by Georgian Dream during preceding elections. Szabó would win 4.8% (701 votes) of the vote in that election, finishing fourth.

During the 2020 parliamentary election, Girchi was one of few parties to declare an open contest for intra-party primaries to select names for its proportional electoral list. The primary was done online and candidates were selected by party members based on the 1 GeD = 1 vote principle. However, the party was forced to modify its list due to gender-based quota requirements imposed during the 2020 electoral reform push. Zurab Japaridze, Iago Khvichia, Vakhtang Megrelishvili, Aleksandre Rakviashvili, and Herman Szabó were selected to lead the party list through the primary. While the party originally said it would not field any majoritarian candidate and would refuse to be part of an opposition coalition, it eventually agreed to field Zurab Japaridze as candidate for the Didube-Chughureti Majoritarian District with the endorsement of almost every opposition party, while not nominating candidates where other parties agreed to field joint nominees. Because the opposition only agreed on candidates in Tbilisi, Girchi also nominated candidates in Rustavi-Gardabani (Vakhtang Megrelishvili), Khashuri (Nika Mosiashvili), Poti (Boris Kurua), Guria (Vakhtang Zenaishvili), and Batumi (Iago Khvichia).

During the 2020 campaign, Girchi refused campaign donations and spent no direct funds. Instead, it largely focused on social media marketing, while majoritarian candidates mostly targeted their advertisement to people under 35 years old. It consistently polled 1-4%. Ultimately, it won 2.9% (55,598 votes), obtaining four parliamentary seats. Its best results were seen in Tbilisi, where the party won third place behind Georgian Dream and the United National Movement.

Nationwide, its best score was in Tbilisi's Vake (9.1%), Saburtalo (8.1%), Didube-Chughureti (8%), Mtatsminda-Krtsanisi and Nadzaladevi (6.4%), Gldani (5.4%), and Isani (5%) districts. In a repeat of the 2018 presidential results, Girchi's poorest performance was seen in minority-majority districts, including Akhalkalaki-Ninotsminda (0.1%), Marneuli-Gardabani (0.2%), Bolnisi-Dmanisi-Tsalka-Tetritsqaro (0.6%), and High Adjara (0.7%). It also continued to underperform in the regions of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Racha-Lechkhumi-Kvemo Svaneti, and Imereti.

In the 2020 polls, Girchi won 8.1% of the vote among the Georgian diaspora, finishing in third place in that electorate. It came out in second place among Georgian voters in the Czech Republic (where it defeated Georgian Dream), Germany, and Austria.

In the majoritarian districts where it fielded candidates, Girchi mostly underperformed its nationwide results, with the exception of Megrelishvili's 3.3% in Rustavi-Gardabani and Japaridze's 21.1% in Didube-Chughureti.

Local elections

Girchi refused to participate in the 2017 local elections, protesting what it deemed unfair party qualification requirements. It also did not field any candidate in the various special local races that have taken place in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022.

During the nationwide local elections of 2021, Girchi rejected fielding any mayoral nominee, nor did it have any candidate for majoritarian seats on Municipal Assemblies. Instead, it chose to focus on proportional elections and argued that the party's main goal was "preservation and progress". The campaign headquarters were led by party activist Oto Zakalashvili, while Herman Szabó headed the party's Tbilisi list. The party had no proportional list in 13 municipalities.

The party won 0.95% (16,695 votes), a 70% drop from its 2020 legislative results. Its best results were in Abasha (3.3%), Lentekhi (3%) and Tbilisi's Vake district (2.1%). The party blamed its poor results on nationwide developments, including the rise of a new opposition party led by former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and the return to Georgia of former President Mikheil Saakashvili. However, analysts have linked the sharp fall in support to the party's split, most libertarian-leaning voters choosing to support Zurab Japaridze's GMF, at the time a part of the united opposition's coalition. Some also blame the poor showing to the lack of mayoral nominee, leading to a loss in potential media coverage.

In 2021, Girchi won one seat on the Abasha Municipal Assembly.

Membership

Girchi considers holders of its cryptocurrency, the Georgian dollar, as party members. As of March 2023, the party counted 2,880 such members.

The party has been known to target mostly young voters through "witty, at times controversial PR campaigns", according to Civil Georgia. Its communication methods are mostly based on social media platforms, especially Facebook, for communicating, fundraising, and to enroll new members. Georgian magazine ''The Messenger'' has described the party's campaigns as "never ceasing to surprise the public and the country's political establishment."

Girchi members in office

Upon its creation in 2015, Girchi included four members of Parliament that had previously been elected under the UNM ticket (Japaridze, Kublashvili, Khachidze, and Meladze). Though parliamentary procedures prevented them from creating a separate faction, they mostly worked in coordination during the 8th Parliamentary Convocation (2012-2016) to push for libertarian legislation. In March 2016, MP Japaridze proposed an amendment to the Military Obligation and Service Act that would have abolished conscription, although the bill failed in committee due to opposition by Georgian Dream and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Another bill proposed in November 2016 would have repealed Article 45 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, effectively legalizing cannabis in Georgia, although the bill was never considered before the convocation's term ended. In May 2016, MP Goga Khachidze proposed a series of amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Police Act that banned law enforcement's discretionary power to require drug testing. The bill came in response to the death of a civilian that had been forced to take diuretic pills to undergo drug testing and eventually became the party's sole legislative success.

While the party held no elected office from 2016 to 2020, Girchi won four seats in the 2020 parliamentary elections. However, one of the four elected MPs was Zurab Japaridze, who left the party in December 2020, leaving Girchi with only three MPs - Iago Khvichia, Vakhtang Megrelishvili, and Salome Mujiri. The latter resigned in May 2021 in protest of the gender-based electoral quotas that had required one quarter of the party's candidates to be women and was replaced by Alexandre Rakviashvili. Japaridze himself resigned from Parliament in November 2021, allowing Girchi to fill his seat with Herman Szabó.

Following the adoption of new parliamentary procedures that lowered the threshold for Political Group membership from four to two MPs, the Girchi Political Group in Parliament was created on June 11, 2021, chaired by Iago Khvichia and including three members at first. Szabó joined the Group upon entering Parliament. The group has largely worked in unanimity, proposing libertarian legislation that has so far failed in the 10th Parliamentary Convocation, including a bill that would have allowed retired veterans and law enforcement officers to own firearms, a proposal to create a fact-finding commission on the National Bank of Georgia, and a property tax exemption for those earning less than 70,000 GEL a year. In February 2022, the party proposed a bill that would have exempted party-appointed District Election Commission members from holding "election administration certificates", a requirement that has proven burdensome for small parties.

Besides members of Parliament, Girchi holds one seat on the Prosecutorial Council of Georgia, the body overseeing the State Prosecutor's Office, following the election of Iago Khvichia on April 13, 2022, by Parliament under opposition quota. The party also holds one seat on the Abasha Municipal Assembly, Koki Chachava (who already served in 2017-2021 as a deputy from SFP).

Political positions

Economic issues

Education

Girchi believes in decreasing the involvement of the government in education. During his 2018 presidential campaign, Zurab Japaridze presented the "Free Education Platform", which proposed a deregulation of schools and the hiring of new, younger public school teachers. The proposal envisioned a pilot program with secondary schools to be completely deregulated in Tbilisi, with the ultimate goal to be "an education system free from state interference." Japaridze caused controversy by calling public school teachers "failures in other careers, generally unsuccessful with their lives."

Girchi supports the complete deregulation of private education, while it backs financial and management autonomy for public schools. It condemned the 2018 education reform, calling it "billions spent on ruining children's lives." The party has also opposed a proposal by GD MP Kakha Kakhishvili to teach patriotic values and to instill a pledge to the flag in schools, arguing against what it called "forced patriotism".

Vakhtang Megrelishvili, one of the party's founders and owner of the Newton School, a private K-12 school based in Tbilisi, has called himself a supporter of unschooling.

Environment

Girchi has seldom addressed environmental issues. It supports the privatization of every state asset, including natural reserves, public lands, and mineral resources.

During the 2021 protests against the construction of a hydroelectric station in Namakhvani, party leaders called protesters "green communists". However, the party also opposed the HPP's construction, arguing that the contract signed by the Georgian government implied electricity subsidies, even though it argued that the government should not break a contract it had signed.

Fiscal policies

Girchi is a fiscal conservative party that continuously argues for spending and tax cuts. It supports the complete abolition of the income and corporate taxes, as well as import duties. In 2022, the party introduced a bill that would have severely reduced the property tax rate, exempting anyone earning less than 70,000 GEL and reducing the rate for anyone earning less than 1 million GEL a year.

During the 2016 legislative elections, Girchi called for a reduction in public spending from 8 to 4.5 billion GEL. In 2020, it pledged to cut the size of the government to 20% of the Gross Domestic Product by 2024.

Girchi is strongly opposed to budget deficits and the national debt.

Monetary policy

Girchi has often argued against the activities of the National Bank of Georgia, accusing it of promoting inflation as an unintended consequence of its price regulating mechanisms. In 2022, the party proposed the creation a parliamentary fact-finding commission to investigate the National Bank, although the bill has not received further support.

It backs the legalization of a multi-currency regime and end the lari's monopoly on the Georgian monetary market, including through the promotion of cryptocurrencies. It has also criticized the government's push towards lowering the use of the U.S. dollar, arguing that the latter's value was objective and that the lari was not stable enough to justify de-dollarization policies.

COVID-19 pandemic

Girchi was strongly opposed to the Georgian government's measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent its spread. It was against the state of emergency imposed by President Zourabichvili in April 2020 and the subsequent nationwide curfew and sought to file a lawsuit at the Constitutional Court against the quarantining of Marneuli. Girchi publicly opposed other regulations, including the bans on public gatherings of more than three persons and the interdiction of front passengers in cars.

Despite restrictions on public gathering, the party hosted campaign events in bars during the 2020 legislative elections, establishments that would eventually be fined by the government. It strongly opposed all proposals to postpone the 2021 local elections because of the pandemic.

As a political party, Girchi has called for the strengthening of the judicial branch of government in times of health emergencies, arguing that increased executive outreach required more checks.

Welfare

Girchi opposes most forms of social assistance programs, believing that public welfare encourages poverty instead of decreasing it. During the 2016 legislative election, the party pledged to abolish all welfare programs for working-age capable individuals. In 2020, the party stated it backed a Universal Basic Income of 100 USD a month that would replace universal health care, social assistance, public education, and all other social assistance programs, a plan it estimates would cost the state 13 billion GEL annually. It has often criticized what it calls "populist rhetoric" by political parties seeking to win votes by proposing new social programs, such as the 2021 pledge by UNM to increase welfare for poor children.

The party has called for a reform of the retirement system, originally opposing the pension fund created in 2018 as an undue discretion granted to private banks to invest taxpayer funds with little oversight. Girchi has called for increasing the retirement age for women to 65 and to make pension dividends needs-based.

Regulations

Girchi opposes most regulations on the private sector and has spoken out against such rules as against mandatory car inspections and the 2021 regulations imposed on the gambling sector.

In an act of civil disobedience, Girchi launched in October 2019 ''Shmaxi'', a ride-sharing enterprise, in response to newly-implemented requirements for taxicabs to be painted white. According to party-issued statistics, up to 500 individuals signed up to drive cars through Shmaxi. Even though the company was registered as an academic institution teaching libertarian philosophy to riders, several drivers would be fined.

State monopolies and privatization

Girchi is opposed to government-owned enterprises and state-chartered monopolies, including in the energy and utilities sector. In an act of civil disobedience to protest the lottery monopoly granted to the Georgian National Lottery corporation, party leaders held a lottery in their headquarters in 2018. The move received widespread media coverage during that year's presidential election, but law enforcement did not pursue any action at the time.

In 2020, the party led a push to have several opposition groups formally back its program to distribute state-owned properties and natural resources "equally among citizens". Girchi's platform supports recognizing the homesteading principle, arguing that public lands used by private individuals should be granted to the latter at no cost.

Social issues

Drug liberalization

Girchi supports the full legalization of cannabis and cannabis products for both medical and recreational purposes, as well as the decriminalization of all narcotics, arguing in favor of the 2001 Drug Strategy adopted by Portugal that decriminalized all illicit drugs. Drug policy reform has been at the center of the party's activism and observers have linked Girchi's support among the youth with its early backing of marijuana legalization. In 2017, the party proposed a nationwide referendum on narcotic decriminalization, though the proposal was rejected by Parliament. In 2018, presidential nominee Zurab Japaridze argued for the legalization and regulation of marijuana. The party has also been against the drug testing requirements for public officials, including electoral candidates.

This issue has also been at the forefront of the political group's parliamentary activities, often pushing legislation that would have legalized the use, production, possession, trade, and export of cannabis products. In June 2015, MP Goga Khachidze introduced a bill that radically changed law enforcement's drug testing procedures after the death of a civilian who had been forced to take diuretic pills. He also introduced a marijuana decriminalization bill in March 2016, which failed in committee. In November 2021, Girchi MPs once again sought to decriminalize the purchase and possession of cannabis, though its bill has not been heard by the legislature yet.

Girchi leaders have taken the issue of drug reform to the courts several times. In 2017, then-party attorney Iago Khvichia represented the plaintiff in the landmark ''Givi Shanidze v. Parliament of Georgia'' case which led to the Constitutional Court decriminalizing marijuana in 2017. The 2018 ''Zurab Japaridze and Vakhtang Megrelishvili v. Parliament of Georgia'' case led to the full legalization of marijuana, for both recreational and medical purposes, although restrictions still exist on the substance's trade.

On December 31, 2016, party leaders planted dozens of ''Cannabis sativa'' seeds within their offices in protest of the shortcomings of existing legislation. Police officers eventually confiscated the plants but did not make any arrests.

Crime and judicial reform

Girchi supports judicial and law enforcement reforms in Georgia, believing that the existing system promotes corruption and provides little checks on other branches of government. The party's MPs voted against a 2016 bill that increased the threshold for the Constitutional Court to issue rulings to two-thirds of the court instead of a simple majority. During the 2020 legislative elections, the party's platform included the appointment of judges from the United States and the United Kingdom in the Court of Appeals, as well as the recognition of U.S. Supreme Court decisions as legal precedents in the Georgian judiciary system.

On September 16, 2020, Girchi was one of five signatories on a pledge for judicial reform that included the removal of police functions from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the decentralization of the Georgian Police, the creation of elected sheriff positions at the local level, the abolition of the State Security Service (Georgia's domestic intelligence bureau) and its replacement with an anti-corruption bureau. The pledge also included court reform by granting misdemeanor plaintiffs the right to select their own prosecutors and removing investigative powers from the Prosecutor's Office.

Girchi is opposed to the zero-tolerance policy of law enforcement in Georgia and supports the amnesty of convicted individuals jailed for victimless crimes. In January 2020, the party filed a lawsuit against the practice of non-justified administrative detentions ordered by judges.

Freedom of speech and censorship

As a libertarian party, Girchi is opposed to regulations on speech and attempts of censorship, including against defamation, libel, and slander. In response to a 2017 court ruling ordering a businessman to pay a judge compensation for slander, the party issued an emotion-filled statement threatening to "humiliate and violate the dignity" of all "immoral and dishonorable judges." It opposed the 2022 Broadcasting Act that banned hate speech in media, claiming the law left the definition of "hate speech" as too vague and could be used as a tool for media censorship. Girchi has repeatedly spoken out against Article 157 of the Criminal Code of Georgia that bans the "acquisition, storage, and distribution of material depicting the private life of people", arguing that the law gave authorities too much leverage to go against political opponents, as was seen during the release of a sextape depicting MP Eka Beselia (GD) and that led to the arrest of several Girchi activists for watching the video. At the time, the party accused the authorities of "selective justice".

The Girchi political group was opposed to the Transparency of Foreign Influence Act of 2023, a bill that would have required foreign-funded organizations to register as "foreign agents" and whose original adoption led to riots in Tbilisi in March 2023. Two of its MPs voted to repeal it days after the bill's passage.

The party also supports simplifying procedures to allow individuals to legally change their names. This was seen during the 2018 presidential election when nominee Zurab Japaridze sought to legally add "Girchi" as his middle name. In 2021, the party backed a proposal by Azerbaijani-Georgian advocacy groups calling to allow ethnic Azerbaijanis living in Georgia to replace the Russian suffixes to their last names with Azerbaijani ones.

Prostitution

Girchi supports the full legalization of sex work, including prostitution, and has called anti-prostitution laws a "source of arbitrary justice". The party's platform is rooted in individual liberty and calls prostitution a "victimless crime" and an "consensual act between free individuals", while its legalization could help prevent the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases. The party has also called anti-prostitution laws "cruel and a heritage of the Soviet period".

In May 2019, Girchi controversially opened in an act of civil disobedience a brothel in its office to protest recent crackdowns on prostitution. The space was called "Pioneer", a tongue-in-cheek name that once belonged the youth communist organization during the Soviet Union. This act was in violation of Article 254 of the Criminal Code of Georgia and could have resulted in six-year imprisonment sentences against all party members. To this day, law enforcement has not investigated the brothel, nor is it known whether the space was ever used.

Military conscription

The abolition of military conscription has been one of the central policies around which Girchi has gained popularity. The issue was already a major topic of discussion when the party was founded in 2016, with its leaders calling conscription a source of corruption and extortion, as well as a violation of human rights. Its abolition was a campaign promise made by the party consistently since the 2016 legislative election, while the party's activism has led to nationwide debates that eventually led to a temporary pause in conscription in 2016-2017 and its removal from the Georgian Constitution during the 2018 constitutional reform.

The party planned to sue the Georgian government at the European Court of Human Rights over a law creating imprisonment sentencing guidelines for individuals evading conscription, calling the system "slavery". Girchi also backs higher salaries to active service officers, seriously criticizing the existing 125 GEL monthly salary for conscripts.

Authorities have publicly bashed Girchi and its Biblical Freedom Church for its work against conscription. In March 2019, MP Irakli Sesiashvili (GD) proposed a bill that would have closed the religious loophole for conscription, though keeping the loophole open for members of the Georgian Orthodox Church, a law that would be withdrawn after public massive opposition from religious and civil rights groups. In December 2022, Prime Minister Gharibashvili warned about a crackdown on "despicable and blasphemous religious organizations", directly pointing at the Biblical Freedom Church, and subsequently announced a planned reform of the Defense Code that would address Girchi's loophole. On March 11, 2023, the party organized a large-scale rally in Tbilisi against the new Defense Code, while public backlash forced the government to allow a student exemption in its proposals. Gharibashvili called the protest "anti-nationalist, anti-Georgian." Party chairman and MP Iago Khvichia was expelled from a Defense and Security Committee hearing during discussions over the proposals.

Weapons ownership

Girchi supports the legalization of the ownership of firearms by private individuals, calling weapons possession "the recognition that all people are free and have the full right to protect their bodies and property." Though the party has not directly addressed to what extent it supports firearm ownership, it has said it backs "full legalization of ownership and carrying", while party chairman Iago Khvichia said in 2021 "we want all mentally healthy people in the country to have the right to bear arms." Party leaders have argued that firearm ownership would be a check against potential authoritarianism.

In March 2022, the party's MPs introduced a bill that would have allowed veterans and retired law enforcement officers to own and carry weapons. It argued at the time that the bill was necessary as the country needed a better-armed citizenry in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The bill has not been heard in committee yet.

LGBTQ rights

Girchi supports marriage equality and was the only political party to publicly support the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2016. Its offices were damaged in July 2021 during the anti-LGBTQ riots in Tbilisi organized by far-right groups.

On May 16, 2021, it was one of 15 parties to sign an agreement to "fight to eliminate discrimination and violence against LGBTQ citizens with all mechanisms at their disposals."

Government reform

In Parliament, Girchi's MPs have called "fully proportional, no-threshold elections" the party's main goal, opposing the majoritarian system of electoral districts and the existing 5% electoral threshold for parties to win legislative seats. In July 2022, Girchi was one of several parties to sign a joint statement that called on Georgian Dream to abolish the electoral threshold via a constitutional amendment and to end the ban on inter-party electoral blocs. The party has backed efforts to transition to an electronic voting system, favoring the streamlining and speeding of the electoral counting system. Girchi has regularly spoken out against the public funding of political parties, which it also benefits from. It is also against regulations imposed on proportional electoral lists, including gender-based quotas, and sought to challenge the latter in Constitutional Court in 2020.

Girchi is one of the few parties to openly call for the cancellation of the Constitutional Agreement between the Georgian Government and the Georgian Orthodox Church, also known as the Concordat, which grants the Church a special status and entitles it to large-scale financial benefits and influence with state matters. In response to Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II's 2017 proposal to restore a monarchical form of government, Girchi called the monarchy "one of the darkest periods in the history of humanity." The Georgian Orthodox Church has regularly criticized Girchi's position on major issues, including drug liberalization and military conscription. Meanwhile, the party has claimed that the Church's internal problems, which devolved into a full-fledged crisis in 2019, were the results of its own political influence. Girchi supports abolishing public funding to all religious groups.

Girchi views "one-man rule" as one of Georgia's most urging problems, often referring to Russian-tied businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili as the power behind the scenes of Georgian politics. However, it has so far opposed various deoligarchization proposals in the legislature, especially a 2022 bill proposed by Georgian Dream that would have banned political activism for "wealthy and influential" individuals, though exempting Ivanishvili.

Girchi MPs voted in favor of the 2022 Constitutional Amendments that instituted a 90-vote supermajority requirement for the election of the Prosecutor General to a full six-year term.

In 2018, the party opposed the relocation of the Parliament of Georgia from Kutaisi to Tbilisi.

Foreign policy issues

European Union and NATO integration

Girchi supports Georgia's integration in the European Union and has described itself a "pro-American party", favoring closer relations between Georgia and the United States. During the November 2020 visit to Georgia by State Secretary Mike Pompeo, the party held a silent demonstration to welcome him to the country.

Party leaders have often criticized the perceived anti-Western rhetoric used by Georgian Dream officials. On March 11, 2022, it voted for a non-binding resolution supporting Georgia's submission of a candidacy request to the EU, and organized a pro-EU rally in June. Girchi also backs the release of Mikheil Saakashvili from prison with the purpose of boosting Georgia's chances to integrate the EU.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Girchi has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has called on the Georgian authorities to demonstrate solidarity towards Ukraine, including by closing down the Georgian airspace to Russian aircraft. In April 2022, the party sent Vakhtang Megrelishvili as part of a parliamentary delegation that visited Kyiv and Bucha shortly after the Bucha Massacre.

On the other hand, the party is opposed to imposing a visa regime on Russian citizens, a move proposed by several opposition parties that Girchi sees as a move against those seeking to escape from the war and mobilization. MP Alexandre Rakviashvili has also condemned statements by Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov requesting Georgia to "open a second front" against Russia.

Russian-Georgian conflict

Georgia continues to face a conflict with Russia over the latter's military occupation and recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Girchi has supported the existing non-recognition policy, which encompasses lobbying efforts by the Georgian government to prevent other countries from recognizing the independence of the two separatist republics, as well as the Geneva International Discussions. However, it has called the government's approach a "non-irritation policy", arguing that the Georgian Dream government only issued ''pro forma'' statements and lacked the will to fight "more actively" on the international front to contain Russia.

Girchi supports the expansion of the European Union Monitoring Mission to the occupied territories through necessary means, including direct negotiations between EU officials and "local power elites" in Tskhinvali and Sokhumi. The party also supports the establishment of trade ties between Georgia proper and the two republics, as long as trade formats do not imply recognition of local authorities.

The party believes that the "best strategy" to reintegrate the two republics is to build a strong economy based on free markets. When South Ossetia considered requesting annexation by Russia in 2022, Iago Khvichia said that Tbilisi's response should be "genuine Western integration".

In January 2023, the party published a policy paper on reconciliation with Abkhazia, written by MP Alexandre Rakviashvili, who sits on the Temporary Parliamentary Committee on the Restoration of Territorial Integrity and Deoccupation of Georgia. In it, he backed a three-step approach that would begin with Georgia "admitting its mistakes" (including potential war crimes during the War in Abkhazia, the embargo of 1996, and the War of 1998), followed by the abolition of the IDP status granted by the government to families expelled from Abkhazia and South Ossetia during successive military conflicts and replacing it with the granting them full ownership rights (including the right to sell) over their familial lands in the territories, and finally the legalization of direct trade with Abkhazia.

Affiliated media

Girchi TV

In 2019, Girchi TV was launched as a private channel, formally owned by Tostne Koberidze. Launched on August 21 and broadcast on Channel 61, the channel went around regulations of the Broadcasting Act that ban political party-affiliated individuals from holding positions in broadcasting by ensuring Koberidze was not a formal party member. Upon its creation, the channel stated it would not pay any taxes until its debt reached 25 million GEL, an act of civil disobedience hitting at the authorities' approach towards unpaid tax debts held by other television channels.

Girchi TV was one of the party's largest advertising tools during the 2020 parliamentary election. However, the State Audit Office sought a legal case against the channel as the party did not report its free advertisement platform as campaign contributions, in violation of campaign finance regulations. The channel suffered a cyberattack, temporarily paralyzing the platform, three days before the election.

Girchi TV has been known for its in-depth coverage of the party's activities, but also for independent programs that approach Georgian history and libertarian philosophy. Among them is ''Birth of Georgia'', a program hosted by Iago Khvichia and showing interviews with figures from the early years of Georgian independence.

With the split of the party in 2020, the television's infrastructure and broadcasting ended up in the hands of the new Girchi - More Freedom. Since then, most of the channel's previous programming has been transferred to the party's YouTube channel and has expanded to include programs such as "Girchi in Parliament" and "Free Market".

More Freedom

In July 2020, the party announced it would start publishing its own newspaper called ''More Freedom'', with Iago Khvichia as its main editor. The first issue was published in April 2021, days before the April 19, 2021 agreement between the government and opposition parties, and was dedicated to Girchi's political demands addressed to Georgian Dream.

See also

* Girchi – More Freedom — a party split from Girchi

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girchi
2015 establishments in Georgia (country)
Liberal parties in Georgia (country)
Libertarian parties in Georgia (country)
Centre-right parties in Georgia (country)
Political parties established in 2015
Political parties in Georgia (country)
Pro-European political parties in Georgia (country)