Local government in Georgia ( ka, ადგილობრივი თვითმმართველობა, tr) is administered at the level of the subdivisions of

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 ...

, which are known as the units of self-government or

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

(მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''munits'ipaliteti''). The Georgian Law on Self Government defines a municipality as a settlement (town or city; ქალაქი, ''k'alak'i'') or a unity of settlement (community; თემი, ''t'emi'') with defined boundaries, administrative center, as well as representative and executive bodies of government, and possesses their own assets, budget, and income.

Legal basis

The self-government in Georgia is organized according to the Constitution of Georgia, the

European Charter of Local Self-Government The European Charter of Local Self-Government was adopted under the auspices of the Congress of the Council of Europe and was opened for signature by the Council of Europe's member states on 15 October 1985. All Council of Europe member states a ...

(ratified by Georgia in 2004), and the Organic Law of Georgia on Local Self-Government, the latest version of which was adopted in 2014. In the

Autonomous Republic of Adjara Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a'' ...

, it further regulated by the Constitutional Law of Georgia on the Status of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara. The Georgian law defines the breakaway entities of

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...

and

South Ossetia South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...

occupied territories Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...

, where the question of self-government should be resolved after the restoration of Georgian sovereignty. The bodies of local self-government have no jurisdiction over the free industrial zones. The Government of Georgia can create, merge, or dissolve municipality as well as change their boundaries with the approval of the Parliament after the prior consultation with or at the request of the respective municipalities.

Symbols

The municipalities have their own symbols such as flag and coat of arms, the designs of which are consulted with and approved by the

State Council of Heraldry The State Council of Heraldry at the Parliament of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტთან არსებული ჰერალდიკის სახელმწიფო საბჭო,''saka ...

at the

Parliament of Georgia The Parliament of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტი, tr) is the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members; of these, 120 are proportio ...

. The official language in all municipalities is

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

. The municipalities possess the rights of administer their own budgets, assets, natural resources, local taxes, and manage local infrastructure.

Bodies of self-government

The bodies of self-government at the level of municipalities are a representative council, ''sakrebulo'' (საკრებულო), directly elected for a four-year term, and an executive branch, headed by a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, directly elected for a four-year term.

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

is also a self-governing city (municipality), which, further, enjoys a special legal status of the national capital. It is further subdivided into districts (რაიონი, ''

raioni A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is com ...

''), headed by ''gamgebeli'' (literally, "governor"), who are appointed by the

Mayor of Tbilisi The Mayor of Tbilisi is an elected politician in Tbilisi. Before 2005 the mayors used to be appointed by the central government. In 2006 first mayoral elections were held in the history of the Republic of Georgia. The first elected mayor of Tbilisi ...

with the approval of the city council, ''sakrebulo''.

Elections

A total of seven elections of local self-government have been held in

post-Soviet The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

Georgia, first on 25 June 1998.

References

{{Europe topic, Local government in Politics of Georgia (country)

* Government of Georgia (country)

Legal basis

Symbols

Bodies of self-government

Elections

See also

References