Events in the year 2023 in Georgia.
Incumbents President – Salome Zourabichvili Prime Minister – Irakli Garibashvili Chairperson of the Parliament – Shalva Papuashvili
Rankings + Georgia's ranking in international ratings Ranking Organization 2023 Rank 2022 Rank Note Corruption Perceptions Index Transparency International 49/180(score: 53/100) 41/180(score: 56/100) Lowest score in the index since 2015. World Press Freedom Index Reporters Without Borders 77/180(score: 61.69/100) 89/180(score: 59.3/100)
Events January 3 January: Two Georgian civilians are abducted by Russian forces in the village of Koshki near the South Ossetian occupation line. 9 January: In an interview, Ukrainian diplomat Andrii Kasianov reveals that Georgia had refused Ukraine's request for a transfer of Ukrainian-manufactured weapons systems granted to Georgia in 2008. For the first time in Georgian history, a nationwide minimum hourly wage is imposed for medical staff (set at 4.4 GEL for nurses and 7 GEL for doctors). 12 January: Georgia and Armenia sign a visa-free travel agreement. Shota Tkeshelashvili, a career prosecutor, is elected Chairman of the Prosecutorial Council. 19 January: In Machalikashvili and Others v. Georgia, the European Court of Human Rights finds the Georgian government guilty of failing to properly investigate the killing of a minor during a 2017 anti-terrorist operation. 20 January: Sagarejo shooting: A man opens fire from a balcony in Sagarejo, Kakheti, killing five people and wounding five others. The gunman later commits suicide. 23 January: Droa, Strategy Aghmashenebeli, and Girchi — More Freedom announce a "National Liberation Movement", accusing the Georgian government of leading a pro-Russian course. 26 January: Incumbent Kakha Bekauri is reelected for a three-year term as Chairman of the National Communications Commission, an independent branch of government meant to regulate the media. 27 January: The Holy See calls on the Georgian government to return six churches historically Catholic to the Catholic Church. 30 January: MP Levan Khabeishvili is elected Chairman of the United National Movement, defeating incumbent Nika Melia. 31 January: The EU Council appoints Dimitrios Karabalis of Greece as the new Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia.
February 1 February: The U.S. State Department awards former Public Defender Nino Lomjaria the Global Human Rights Defender Award. A leaked audio recording of a phone conversation between Georgia's Special Envoy on Russia Zurab Abashidze and his Russian counterpart Grigory Karasin reveals bilateral talks on the construction of a new highway linking both countries, sparking controversy in Georgia. 2 February: The European Parliament holds an urgent debate initiated by MEP Anna Fotyga on the declining health of imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili. 6 February: Parliamentary Chairman Shalva Papuashvili enacts media accreditation rules that see members of Parliament shielded from unwanted questions. The new rules spark controversy as civil society groups fear curtailing of media rights. The Tbilisi City Court rules against the deferral of former President Mikheil Saakashvili's prison sentence on health grounds. This decision causes UNM, Strategy Aghmashenebeli, Law and Justice, and independent MP Tamar Kordzaia to launch a parliamentary boycott that will last until discussions on the Transparency of Foreign Influence Act in March. The court decision is criticized by President Zourabichvili. MP Giorgi Khojevanishvili (FG - Gori/Kaspi) announces his resignation, initiating a special election in the district later won by Georgian Dream. The Government withdraws a constitutional lawsuit it had filed against President Zourabichvili over diplomatic appointments, without explaining the cause of the withdrawal. 9 February: Parliament extends gender-based quotas in partisan electoral lists from 2028 to 2032. UNESCO publishes a report warning about the degrading state of conservation of the Gelati Monastery in Kutaisi, criticizing local authorities for not ensuring its preservation. The report leads to a nationwide debate on which institutions share the blame, with the Georgian Orthodox Church accusing the Ministry of Culture of ignoring long-time warnings. 10 February: Justice Ministry official Razhden Kuprashvili is appointed Head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau by PM Gharibashvili. 15 February: The European Parliament adopts a resolution calling on President Zourabichvili to immediately pardon her predecessor Mikheil Saakashvili. 21 February: Abkhaz de facto President Aslan Bzhania visits Belarus and meets with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, sparking condemnation by Tbilisi. The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly adopts a resolution endorsing EU accession for Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova. 23 February: President Zourabichvili vetoes the National Bank Act of 2023 that is seen as undermining the independence of the National Bank of Georgia and increasing Georgian Dream's influence over the institution.
24 February: PM Gharibashvili issues an executive order allowing Ukrainian citizens to remain in Georgia for two years without a visa. 27 February: EU Ambassadors hold a démarche towards the Georgian Government over concerning reports surrounding the deteriorating health of imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili.
March 1 March: The National Bank of Georgia finds Cartu Bank, the private financial institution tied to oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, in violation of the country's anti-money laundering rules. 2-9 March: 2023 anti-government protests following an attempt by Georgian Dream to pass the Transparency of Foreign Influence Act (TFIA), also known as the "Foreign Agents Law", a bill aiming to regulate the foreign funding of Georgian civil society organizations and largely similar to a Russian law passed in 2018 used to justify the arrest of anti-Putin activists. The bill is largely condemned by European institutions, civil society groups, and opposition organizations. 2 March: A joint session of the Defense and Foreign Affairs Committees in Parliament endorse the original TFIA draft in a highly-polarized session held behind closed doors and characterized by physical and verbal fights between government and opposition MPs. President Zourabichvili calls for the banning of People's Power, the far-right caucus of Georgian Dream that authored the bill. UNM-organized protests lead to 36 arrests, including two journalists. The U.S. State Department calls on Parliament to reject the law. 3 March: Georgian Dream makes a series of demands to "the West", including ending all funding to environmental organizations, civil libertarian groups like Droa and the Shame Movement, and ending all funding to non-Orthodox religious groups. CoE Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatović condemns the bill. 6 March: The Legal Affairs Committee endorses TFIA in a tense closed-door session that saw the forceful removal of MPs Levan Khabeishvili, Giorgi Botkoveli, and Giorgi Vashadze. The EU comes out against the bill. President Zourabichvili condemns the law during a speech at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. 7 March: Reporters without Borders, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International call on Parliament to reject the bill. In the evening, Parliament passes in first reading TFIA in a 76-13 vote. The EU's Josep Borrell claims the bill goes against Georgia's EU integration, while the U.S. State Department threatens to "hold anyone accountable" with existing mechanisms. Massive protests in front of Parliament result in violent dispersal by the police, while Georgian Dream accuses protesters of seeking a "Revolution of Spies", comparing the events to the 2003 Rose Revolution. 8 March: Russia and Abkhazia express their support towards the Georgian Government, accusing the European Union of "pressuring Georgia". Massive protests and police violence continue for the second night, leading to 134 arrests 9 March: In the early hours of the morning, the Parliamentary Majority announces its withdrawal of TFIA.
2 March: The Tbilisi Court of Appeals upholds a decision by the lower court to deny an emergency motion to defer the sentencing of former President Mikheil Saakashvili on health grounds. 111th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism in Ergneti between Tbilisi and South Ossetia, under EUMM mediation, with no tangible outcome. 7 March: Government-backed Levan Ioseliani is elected Public Defender of Georgia in a controversial parliamentary selection process that saw non-governmental organizations removed from any public discussion. 10 March: In Mamasakhlisi and Others v. Georgia and Russia, the European Court of Human Rights finds Russia responsible for the rights violations of two Georgian civilians detained by separatist Abkhaz authorities as far back as 2001, a landmark case as it recognizes Russia's control over the de facto Abkhaz government prior to the 2008 Russo-Georgian war. Major Georgian NGOs announce their withdrawal from the Consultative Group of the Standing Council of Open Government, a parliamentary institution responsible for public consultations, due to the TFIA protests. 12 March: Prime Minister Gharibashvili accuses "destructive, anarchist" forces, citing a libertarian youth organization, for the anti-TFIA protests, while claiming the demonstrations were a "plan" by the European Parliament and Ukraine to "drag Georgia into the war," referring to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 14 March: The pro-Russian Conservative Movement holds an anti-EU rally in Tbilisi and burns the EU flag in front of Parliament. The Ministry of Justice is found guilty of violating the rights of former President Mikheil Saakashvili over the publication of his cell's security cameras. 18 March: Police launches raids on student dormitories to collect information on youth groups that took part in the anti-TFIA protests. 20 March: MP Giorgi Amilakhvari, a businessman and politician with ties to China, is appointed Minister of Education after the Government chooses to reorganize the Ministry and go after student groups involved in the anti-TFIA protests. 23 March: In Tbilisi, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock talks of "attempts to deviate the country from the pro-European course." 24-26 March: 2023 Judo Grand Slam Tbilisi 24 March: Four Georgian Dream MPs who had abstained from voting for TFIA resign from Parliament in what experts describe as a "purge" within the party. 27 March: The Norwegian Sjur Lindebrække Prize for Democracy and Human Rights is awarded to former President Mikheil Saakashvili, leading to a condemnation by Prime Minister Gharibashvili, who compares the latter to Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik. The Georgian Foreign Ministry summons Norwegian Ambassador Helene Sand Andresen over the award.
April 3 April: Elene Ghudushauri and Natia Julakidze are appointed as Deputy Public Defenders by the new PD Levan Ioseliani. Julakidze's appointment is criticized as nepotism after she is revealed to be the niece of Ioseliani's former party boss Aleko Elisashvili. MEP Viola von Cramon participates in an anti-government rally in Tbilisi calling for the release of Lazare Grigoriadis, the young man arrested for his participation in the March rallies. The PACE Co-Rapporteurs on Georgia urge local authorities to engage in holistic reforms to fulfill the 12 recommendations necessary for European integration. 4 April: The Council of Doctors under the Public Defender's Office tasked with monitoring the health of jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili publishes a report revealing health deterioration since the previous report in February. Saakashvili is diagnosed with sarcopenia, stage 4 cachexia, orthostatic hypotension, and neuropathy leading to depression.