[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4258 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4258
To ensure free, fair, and competitive elections in the Republic of
Georgia.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 26, 2012
Mr. McDermott introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure free, fair, and competitive elections in the Republic of
Georgia.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Republic of Georgia Democracy Act of
2012''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) A democratic and stable Republic of Georgia is in the
political, security, and economic interests of the United
States.
(2) Georgia plays a key role in the security of the Black
Sea and South Caucasus region, which is important for Euro-
Atlantic security, transportation, and energy diversification
to and from the Caspian Sea.
(3) Georgia has been a reliable partner and ally in
enhancing global peace and stability with its significant
contribution to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
(4) The United States-Georgia Charter on Strategic
Partnership, signed in January 2009, outlines the importance of
the bilateral relationship as well as the intent of both
countries to expand democracy and economic programs, enhance
defense and security cooperation, further trade and energy
cooperation, and build people-to-people cultural exchanges.
(5) Georgia's democratic nature is one of its core
strengths and the basis for the deep friendship between Georgia
and the United States. As such, continued democratic reform,
the strength of Georgia's democratic institutions, and regular
free, fair, and competitive elections are key priorities for a
strong continuing relationship between the United States and
Georgia.
(6) Democracy in Georgia is facing serious challenges and
political freedom and fair competition between political
parties is under assault. For example, the government has
increased detaining members of the political opposition and
civil society nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), limited
freedom of the press, undermined the right of workers to
organize and bargain collectively, and stopped opposition
groups from holding demonstrations--often by violent means.
(7) According to the Department of State's 2010 Human
Rights Report on Georgia, when President Mikheil Saakashvili
was re-elected to the Presidency in 2008, ``the OSCE identified
significant problems, including widespread allegations of
intimidation and pressure, flawed vote-counting and tabulation
processes, and shortcomings in the complaints and appeals
process. These and other problems continued into the
parliamentary elections in May 2008, which international
observers concluded were uneven and incomplete in their
adherence to international standards.''.
(8) On February 13, 2012, United Nations Special Rapporteur
on the Right to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Maina Kiai concluded at the end of his visit to Georgia that
the previous positive trajectory of the country was being
replaced with a ``widespread climate of fear, intimidation and
arbitrary restrictions of fundamental freedoms.'' He identified
multiple problems, including with the way in which the
government undermined political parties and NGOs, such as
prosecuting and detaining political activists with little to no
evidence. Furthermore, he noted, ``there have been long
standing concerns--by regional bodies and the UN--about the
inability to distinguish between the ruling party and the
state, which is especially relevant in light of the upcoming
parliamentary and presidential elections.''.
(9) Georgia will hold parliamentary elections in October
2012. In the run-up to the election, Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili and the Georgian Parliament enacted constitutional
changes that reduce the power of the president and increase the
power of the prime minister.
(10) Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's presidential
term ends in 2013 and it has been reported that he plans to
assume the role of Prime Minister if his political party,
United National Movement (UNM), wins the majority of the seats
in the Parliament, which it currently has.
(11) Bidzina Ivanishvili, a Georgian businessman who has
never served in the Georgian Government, launched a new
political party called Georgian Dream, on October 5, 2011, in
an effort to unify the Georgian opposition parties and
challenge Saakashvili's increasingly dictatorial control over
Georgia's government.
(12) In response to the creation of Georgian Dream, Mikheil
Saakashvili's regime stripped Bidzina Ivanishvili of his
citizenship despite the fact that Mikheil Saakashvili granted
Ivanishvili's citizenship in the first place, Ivanishvili was
born in Georgia, and there is no legal basis for his
citizenship to be revoked.
(13) Since the launch of Georgian Dream, the Saakashvili
regime has launched a concerted, aggressive campaign to
undermine Georgian Dream's ability to compete against
Saakashvili's party in the Parliamentary elections. For
example, the Georgian Government has fired those employees,
especially teachers, who support Ivanishvili or other
opposition parties.
(14) The Georgian Government has increased harassment and
detention of the supporters of Ivanishvili, Georgian Dream and
other opposition parties, often through violent means, without
due process. Hundreds of opposition supporters have been
detained in March 2012 as part of a concerted effort to
intimidate voters and opposition campaigners.
(15) On February 27, 2011, Solomon Kimeridze, an
Ivanishvili supporter, died under suspicious circumstances
while in police custody.
(16) On May 26, 2011, Georgian security officials killed
two protesters while using violent means to break-up a peaceful
protest. An investigation into this incident has been requested
by United States Ambassador Robert Bass, the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Commission,
Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International.
(17) On December 28, 2011, the Georgian Parliament passed
new election laws that will limit opposition parties' access to
funds. The OSCE and the U.S. State Department criticized this
law for both its substance and the abnormal way in which it was
enacted by the Saakashvili-controlled parliament. Furthermore,
the Chamber of Control, the state audit agency that is
controlled by Saakashvili, created a new division specifically
focused on investigating Georgian Dream and Bidzina Ivanishvili
and blocking Ivanishvili's financial support for opposition
candidates and party building.
(18) United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to
Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association Maina Kiai
concluded that these changes to the election law ``appear to
affect the rights to association and to peaceful assembly . . .
these amendments, which at times use ambiguous language, are
fuelling an overall climate of distrust, and appear to largely
violate international human rights law.''.
(19) The Saakashvili regime has warped the Georgian banking
sector, previously a model of post-Soviet success and
transparency, in an effort to destroy Bank Cartu, a bank owned
by Bidzina Ivanishvili. Based on a law passed at the end of
October 2011 after Ivanishvili announced the creation of
Georgian Dream, the Georgian Government seized over millions of
dollars in bank assets. The American Chamber of Commerce
criticized this new law, predicted that it would undermine a
model banking system that has been built with the support of
the United States Government, IMF, and World Bank. The Georgian
Government has only applied this new law, which gives the
Government the right to seize loan collateral before the banks
that issued the loan, to Bank Cartu and no other banks. As a
result, the Saakashvili regime continues to seize Bank Cartu
assets in an effort to force the bank out of business and
remove a source of Ivanishvili's financial support.
(20) United States national security interests are best
served by a democratic Georgia no matter what individuals and
which parties are in control of the country. An undemocratic
Georgia will breed instability in a volatile region and
increase the likelihood of violent conflict. As such, it is
incumbent on the United States Government to clearly
communicate to President Saakashvili that if he continues down
his current path and does not allow free, fair, and competitive
elections, the special relationship between the United States
and Georgia will be at risk and Georgia will face the loss of
both United States political support and financial assistance.
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE TO THE REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA.
(a) Limitation.--No funds available to any United States department
or agency for fiscal year 2013 may be used to provide assistance to the
Republic of Georgia until the Secretary of State certifies and reports
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate that the parliamentary
elections held in October 2012 or such other date if rescheduled were
carried out in a free, fair, and competitive manner consistent with
international standards.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required under subsection
(a) shall include information on--
(1) the presence and findings of election observers;
(2) the ability of opposition parties to campaign
effectively; and
(3) whether Bidzina Ivanishvili and the Georgian Dream
Party participated in the election, and, if not, the reason for
their absence.
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