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Georgian March

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Georgian March
ქართული მარში
LeaderSandro Bregadze
Secretary-GeneralIrakli Shikhiashvili
FoundedSummer 2017 (as an NGO)
July 2020 (as a political party)
HeadquartersTbilisi
Membership2,000–5,500
Ideology
Political positionFar-right
ReligionGeorgian Orthodox Church
Colors  Black and   Red
SloganFight for the Georgian identity and for Georgia
Seats in Parliament
0 / 150

The Georgian March (Georgian: ქართული მარში, romanized: kartuli marshi, GM) is a national-conservative political party and social movement in Georgia. It is led by Sandro Bregadze.[1][5] The party is primarily known for street protests as well as its opposition to LGBT rights and immigration.[6][7]

Georgian March was formed as a social movement in July 2017 to further anti-immigration legislation. It became a political party in July 2020 and ran in the 2020 Georgian parliamentary election.[8]

History

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Georgian March was founded in April 2017 as a public movement.[9] The movement was formed as a response to the highly publicized child abuse case by an Iranian citizen. It started as an informal union of several organizations, that have been labeled neo-Nazi.[10]

It was transformed into a political party on 2 July 2020, led by billionaire Sandro Bregadze, who had previously served in the government of the ruling Georgian Dream Party as Deputy Minister of Diaspora Issues from 2014-2016.[11] Irakli Shikhiashvili, former Head of the State Veterans Office and former Chairman of the Tbilisi City Assembly (2013-2014), was subsequently elected Political Secretary of the party. Giorgi Gigauri, a journalist of the Asaval-Dasavali newspaper, which is known for its homophobic and xenophobic discourse, was appointed Deputy Chairman of the party.[9]

Georgian March took part in the 2020 parliamentary election and received 0.25% of the vote. The party did not cross the 1% barrier to be granted representation in the parliament. The party declared the results illegitimate and organized a protest outside the Georgian Dream office, which was reelected to its third term.[11] The party subsequently did not run in 2021 local elections.[9]

Ideology

[edit]

Analysts view Georgian March as a radical far-right populist and ethno-nationalist movement.[12][11][9] Other labels used to describe the group are extreme right-wing, radical or ultra-conservative, ultra-nationalist, national conservative, traditionalist, nativist, and anti-liberal.[9][11][12] The party is further labeled as fascist or neo-Nazi, however, some analysts disagree with the latter categorization.[10][11] The group’s social views are widely seen as homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic, and racist.[12][9][10][11] In addition, party’s foreign policy is viewed as being anti-Western and "loyal to Russia".[12][9][11] The movements stance on the European Union has been described as hard Euroscepticism.[12][13]

Electoral performance

[edit]
Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Government
2020 Sandro Bregadze 4,753 0.25
0 / 150
 new Extra-parliamentary

References

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  1. ^ a b "Far right group has patrolled Tbilisi streets for the last week". 6 March 2018.
  2. ^ "The Georgian March against migrants and NATO". JAMnews. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  3. ^ ""საქართველო ნეიტრალური ქვეყანაა!" – 11 პარტია პატრიოტთა ერთიან ფრონტს ქმნის" (in Georgian). 25 January 2022.
  4. ^ Givi Silagadze (May 2020). "Is Georgian Populism Eurosceptic?" (PDF). Georgian Institute of Politics.
  5. ^ "Far Right Georgian March Announces Hunger Strike". Georgia Today on the Web. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  6. ^ "The Georgian March against migrants and NATO". JAMnews. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Pertaia, Luka. "Who was in and who was out in Tbilisi's far-right March of Georgians [Analysis]". OC Media. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Nativist 'Georgian March' Movement Becomes Political Party". Civil Georgia. 3 July 2020. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g "Prevention of Far-Right Extremism in Georgia" (PDF). Democracy Research Institute. September 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Mariam Gogiashvili; Salome Tsetskhladze; Mamuka Andguladze (18 May 2018). "Anatomy of Georgian Neo-Nazism". Transparency International Georgia.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Francis Desatge (2021). "The Rise of the Georgian March". Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies.
  12. ^ a b c d e Salome Kandelaki (May 2021). "Euroscepticism and Religion in Georgian Far-right Groups' Political Agenda". Georgian Institute of Politics.
  13. ^ Givi Silagadze (May 2020). "Is Georgian Populism Eurosceptic?" (PDF). Georgian Institute of Politics.


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