The Union of Citizens of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს მოქალაქეთა კავშირი) (also known as the Citizens' Union of Georgia or Georgian Citizens' Union) was a

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...

political party established by

Eduard Shevardnadze Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze ( ka, ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე}, romanized: ; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia for ...

, Communist leader of the

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...

from 1972-1985 and then

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

from 1992–2003 and David Chantladze, former General Trade Representative of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. It was established in the mid-1990s as a vehicle for modernising politicians. It became the majority grouping in the Georgian parliament following the parliamentary elections of November 1995, with Shevardnadze winning the presidency at the same time. Although the Citizens' Union attracted a number of talented young reformers, including Mikhail Saakashvili,

Zurab Zhvania Zurab Zhvania ( ka, ზურაბ ჟვანია; 9 December 1963 – 3 February 2005) was a Georgian politician, who served as Prime Minister of Georgia and Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia. Zhvania began his political career ...

and

Nino Burjanadze Nino Burjanadze (Georgian language, Georgian: ნინო ბურჯანაძე , also romanized Burdzhanadze or Burdjanadze, born 16 July 1964) is a Georgia (country), Georgian politician and lawyer who served as Parliament of Georgia, Ch ...

, it eventually fell victim to Georgia's endemic

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

and Shevardnadze's increasing use of electoral manipulation. In September 2001, Saakashvili resigned from Shevardnadze's government and party on the grounds that corruption had penetrated to the very centre of the Georgian government and that Shevardnadze lacked the will to deal with it. The controversy eventually led to the Citizens' Union splitting into three opposing factions, with alleged corruption among senior party members at the centre of the dispute. In June 2002, Zhvania left the Citizens' Union to set up his own party. Parliamentary Speaker

also left the Citizens' Union to join forces with Zhvania and, eventually, with Saakashvili. By June 2003, five opposition parties had established a United National Movement to provide a focus for opposition to the Citizens' Union. The Citizens' Union was at the centre of the political crisis of November 2003, when parliamentary elections held on November 2 produced results that were widely regarded as rigged. On November 23, massive popular demonstrations forced Shevardnadze to resign. The election results were subsequently annulled and fresh elections were scheduled for 2004. The party was a consultative member of the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...

References

{{Georgian political parties, * Defunct political parties in Georgia (country) Former member parties of the Socialist International Social democratic parties Social democratic parties in Georgia (country) Centre-left parties in Georgia (country)