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Ana Tsitlidze

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Ana Tsitlidze
Member of the Parliament of Georgia
Incumbent
Assumed office
11 December 2020
Member of the Municipal Assembly of Zugdidi
In office
2 August 2014 – 31 May 2021
Personal details
Born (1986-10-04) 4 October 1986 (age 38)
Zugdidi (Georgian SSR)
Political partyUnited National Movement
EducationTbilisi State University
Baltic International Academy
Baltic Psychology and Management University College

Ana Tsitlidze (Georgian: ანა წითლიძე, born on 4 October 1986) is a Georgian politician, member of the United National Movement, who has served as a member of the Parliament of Georgia since 2020. Serving first as a member of the Municipal Assembly of Zugdidi in 2014–2021, she became one of the most vocal members of the opposition against the ruling Georgian Dream party. Joining Parliament in 2021 after spending several months in a boycott over allegations of voter fraud by the authorities, she has remained active in Zugdidi, often spearheading the UNM's campaigns in the city.

Education and early life

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Ana Tsitlidze was born on 4 October 1986 in Zugdidi, at the time in Soviet Georgia. Studying law at the Zugdidi Branch of Tbilisi State University, she led a student movement in 2007 to protest against a decision by the Ministry of Education to shut down local universities.[1] Graduating that same year, she moved to Riga to study social sciences at the Baltic International Academy, and finally obtaining a degree in human resources in 2011 from the Baltic School of Psychology and Management. She holds a doctorate in political science.

In parallel to her studies in Riga, Tsitlidze started working at the Embassy of Georgia in Latvia in 2007. Returning to Georgia in 2011, she worked at the Zugdidi Municipal Assembly as a senior specialist.[2]

Tsitlidze worked as a teacher in the Ninth Public School of Zugdidi until she was elected to Parliament in 2020.[3] She was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Mikheil Saakashvili.

On the Municipal Assembly of Zugdidi

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During the 2014 local elections, which were overwhelmingly won by the ruling Georgian Dream party, Tsitlidze won a seat in the Zugdidi Municipal Assembly on UNM's electoral list. Becoming rapidly one of the most vocal voices of the local opposition, she was reelected in 2017 and became Chair of the UNM's faction in the assembly. In 2019, she endorsed former First Lady Sandra Roelofs's run for Zugdidi Mayor and helped run her campaign.[4]

During her term, Municipal Assembly Deputy chairman Tamaz Patsatsia (GD) notably made derogatory comments about her that would later be condemned by the Public Defender's Office.[5]

In Parliament

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In the 2020 parliamentary elections, Tsitlidze was 36th on the UNM's electoral list,[6] winning her a seat in the Parliament of Georgia. However, along with other opposition MPs, she refused to recognize the results after allegations of massive voter fraud surfaced and boycotted her seat for several months,[7] until a short-lived EU-facilitated agreement between Georgian Dream and the opposition was signed in April 2021. Since then, she sits on the Regional Policy and Local Government Committee, on the Councils for Children's Rights, Open Governance, and Gender Equality, and is a member of the Georgian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie.

Tsitlidze has remained actively involved in the UNM's party work and during the 2021 local elections, she spearheaded various races in Zugdidi and raised awareness of claims of voter suppression in IDP settlements in the region.[8] Observing polls on Election Day, she was arrested by police officers in violation of her parliamentary immunity,[9] though she chose not to pursue charges. As UNM's original victory in the Municipal Assembly was reversed in a recount, she sought to enter and was barred from the District Election Commission building where the recount was being held, raising questions on the integrity of the process.[10] She claimed that the subsequent arrest of two former police officers collaborating with the party in investigating voter fraud allegations was politically-motivated.[11] With the Zugdidi Municipal Assembly becoming a hung council without a clear majority to any party, Tsitlidze launched a campaign to try and block the outgoing Assembly from adopting the 2022 budget,[12] leading a group of activists to try and hinder assembly sessions with whistles and chants,[13] and receiving injuries in the process.[14]

In response to the electoral process[15] and the arrest of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, Tsitlidze announced a new parliamentary boycott with other MPs (Levan Varshalomidze, Nona Mamulashvili, Tako Charkviani, and Zurab Japaridze)[16][17] and went on a temporary hunger strike, along with other UNM activists in Zugdidi.[18] During the special local election for City Assembly of Batumi in April 2022, she campaigned for UNM's nominee and unveiled alleged election irregularities.[19] Tsitlidze backed a rare electoral reform deal with Georgian Dream removing the requirement of new local assemblymen from being confirmed by the rest of the body.[20] When Tsalenjikha Mayor Gia Kharchilava's car was burned down, she claimed this was done as a sign of intimidation.[21]

One of the most vocal opponents of the Georgian Dream-led government, she was called a "traitor" by Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili. Tsitlidze was an early supporter of the Tbilisi Pride in July 2021, calling on the authorities to provide security guarantees to rally participants.[22] As the pride devolved into violent anti-LGBTQ attacks that led to the death of one cameraman, she was among the opposition MPs to take over the chair of the parliamentary speaker in protest to call for the resignation of the government,[23] and was verbally attacked Georgian Dream MP Levan Mgaloblishvili.[24] A staunch opponent to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, she's proposed to address the Constitutional Court with a ban on the Conservative Movement, an alt-right political part founded by Russia-founded organizations,[25] while condemning the Georgian authorities for not being vocal enough with their support of Ukraine.[26]

References

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  1. ^ "Students Appeal to the President and Minister of Education". HumanRights.ge. 18 April 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Official Biography". Parliament of Georgia. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Declaration". Parliament of Georgia. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Opposition activists and journalists attacked in run-up to Georgian by-elections". OC Media. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Public Defender Terms the Statement of Deputy Chairman of Zugdidi City Council as Discriminatory". Public Defender's Office of Georgia. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  6. ^ "UNM-led Bloc Unveils Proportional-Party List". Civil Georgia. 1 October 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Committee on Procedural Issues Supports Termination of 49 MPs' Mandates". Georgia Today. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  8. ^ "ARCHIVED: 2021 Georgia Local Elections Live Blog". Civil Georgia. 13 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  9. ^ "დეპუტატი ანა წითლიძე აცხადებს, რომ დააკავეს" [MP Ana Tsitlidze states that she was arrested]. RegInfo (in Georgian). 30 October 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  10. ^ "UNM Loses Majority in Zugdidi Sakrebulo". Civil Georgia. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Opposition Talks Persecution Amid Reported Detentions of Former Law Enforcers". Civil Georgia. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Opposition claims ruling party intends to adopt municipal budget without their involvement". Agenda.ge. 17 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Clashes, Detentions as Outgoing Councils Approve Batumi, Zugdidi Budgets". Civil Georgia. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Georgian cities of Batumi and Zugdidi approve annual budgets amid protests". OC Media. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Several Opposition MPs Leave Parliamentary Mandates in Protest at Elections Results". Georgia Today. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Dispatch – November 1/2: Climate Change". Civil Georgia. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  17. ^ "Municipal elections are over – what will the opposition do now?". JamNews. 6 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Rustavi, Zugdidi City Council members from UNM party announce hunger strike in support of Saakashvili". Agenda.ge. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  19. ^ Kincha, Shota (3 April 2022). "Georgian Dream edges closer to taking back the Batumi legislature". OC Media. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  20. ^ "Explainer: GD, UNM Make Rare Deal to Resolve Local Council Deadlocks". Civil Georgia. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  21. ^ "Mayor of Tsalenjikha says his personal car was set on fire late at night". The Messenger. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  22. ^ "The 2021 Tbilisi Pride: Georgia Divided while Int'l Community Demands Tolerance". Georgia Today. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Fistfights erupt in Georgian parliament as media blocked from entering". OC Media. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  24. ^ "NGOs address Parliament Speaker over violence against female MPs". The Messenger. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  25. ^ "Demands for ban of new far-right party in Georgia". OC Media. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  26. ^ "Georgian Oppositionists Urge Authorities to Condemn Russia-Planned "Referenda"". JamNews. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
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