National Council of Georgia (1917-1919) and Legislative Regulations for Democratic Elections

Abstract

(The research was carried out within the framework of the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia Grant Project “The Beginning of the Contemporary Georgian Parliamentarianism: The National Council of Georgia-The Parliament of Georgia”. Grant Code: FR-23-2950) The National Council of Georgia (1917-1919) served as the governing body during Georgia's most challenging times, and on May 26, 1918, it successfully restored the country's independence. The National Council also developed the electoral regulations for the Constituent Assembly of Georgia (1919-1921) and ensured conducting the first democratic elections in the history of Georgia.       Although the National Council played a significant role in our country's history, many aspects of its activities are still unexplored. The purpose of this research is to study the compliance of the electoral regulations of the constituent assembly developed by the National Council: a) with the democratic electoral regulations of that time (primarily with the electoral regulations of the Constituent Assembly of Russia) and b) with the modern standards of democratic elections.        The research is based on the comparative method and content analysis of documents. In particular, the electoral regulations of the Constituent Assembly of Georgia, the relevant articles of the 1921 Constitution, the electoral regulations of the Russian Constituent Assembly and the electoral regulations valid in modern Georgia have been studied.            The National Council approved the electoral regulations of the constituent assembly on November 22, 1918. According to the regulations, the Constituent Assembly consisted of 130 members and was elected by the residents regardless of gender - by equal, direct and secret voting according to the rule of proportional representation. In 1919, the population of the Democratic Republic of Georgia elected a legislative body-the Constituent Assembly. The elections started on February 14 and lasted until February 17. The population of 13 districts and 17 cities made a choice among 15 parties. The main counting bodies of the results were city and district election commissions. It should be noted that initially the elections were planned to be held in the late spring of 1919, but later the date was changed[1] and the elections were conducted on February 14, 15 and 16, 1919.[2]       The pre-election campaign in the republic began in December 1918 and lasted until February 1919.        The Constituent assembly elections were held in Georgia a century ago. It is worth noting that after a hundred years, the electoral legislation in independent Georgia was changed and somewhat simplified, although it should also be taken into account that a number of electoral restrictions, which were in effect at the beginning of the 20th century, will not be relevant in the modern period (Penal servitude, exile...); However, the legislation of both periods pays attention to citizens placed in penitentiary institutions and grants them the right to participate in elections according to the severity of the crime committed by them. The age of citizens with the right to vote was lowered (from 20 to 18); The participation of persons with disabilities (deaf-and-dumb citizens) in the elections is allowed at the current stage and they participate in the political life of the country, unlike the democratic republic; The participation of people with mental disorders in elections is still restricted.