 |
|---|
Legislature |
Judiciary |
 Georgia portal |
Local government in Georgia (Georgian:ადგილობრივი თვითმმართველობა,romanized:adgilobrivi tvitmmartveloba) is administered at the level of the subdivisions ofGeorgia, which are known as the units of self-government ormunicipalities (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.[1]
The self-government in Georgia is organized according to theConstitution of Georgia, theEuropean Charter of Local Self-Government (ratified by Georgia in 2004[2]), and the Organic Law of Georgia on Local Self-Government, the latest version of which was adopted in 2014. In theAutonomous Republic of Adjara, 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 ofAbkhazia andSouth Ossetia asoccupied territories, where the question of self-government should be resolved after the restoration of Georgian sovereignty.[1]
The bodies of local self-government have no jurisdiction over thefree 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.[1]
The municipalities have their own symbols such as flag and coat of arms, the designs of which are consulted with and approved by theState Council of Heraldry at theParliament of Georgia. The official language in all municipalities isGeorgian. The municipalities possess the rights of administer their own budgets, assets, natural resources, local taxes, and manage local infrastructure.[1]
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 amayor, directly elected for a four-year term.[1]
Tbilisi 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), headed bygamgebeli (literally, "governor"), who are appointed by theMayor of Tbilisi with the approval of the city council,sakrebulo.[1]
A total of seven elections of local self-government have been held inpost-Soviet Georgia, first on 25 June 1998.[3][4]
