"Georgia Names Mamuka Mdinaradze Security Chief Amid Authoritarianism Warning"

A Georgian Dream lawmaker known for accusing Western nations of employing a "policy of blackmail and threats" has been named head of the country’s security services, as an independent report raised alarms about the consolidation of autocratic rule.

Mamuka Mdinaradze, previously the parliamentary majority leader for the ruling party, was confirmed on Wednesday as chief of the influential state security service.

He has repeatedly condemned the EU and the US for their criticism of Georgia’s government regarding democratic backsliding, with Brussels signaling potential obstacles to the nation’s aspirations to join the union.

Mdinaradze was also behind a contentious legislative proposal targeting opposition groups perceived as adversaries of the ruling party. The bill seeks to ban political movements deemed to share the same objectives, leadership, or functions as the former governing party, the United National Movement, which Mdinaradze has labeled "anti-Georgian, anti-constitutional, anti-national, and criminal."

His appointment coincides with a report by the Rule of Law Lab at New York University School of Law and Gnomon Wise, a Georgian research organization, which asserts that the Georgian Dream party, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, has tightened its grip on power.

According to the report, Georgia’s institutions have been "systematically weakened and repurposed to reinforce a personalist regime" under Ivanishvili, the party’s chairman and the country’s wealthiest individual.

The judicial system has allegedly been brought under control through a reform of the High Council of Justice, undermining judicial independence and leading to the removal of judges deemed uncooperative.

Prosecutors, the report claims, operate under Ivanishvili’s influence through a Soviet-style hierarchy, with the security service now functioning as an expansive surveillance and enforcement entity under the incoming leadership.

The report states: "The Ivanishvili regime has strengthened its authoritarian rule by exploiting Georgia’s security institutions."

"The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service form the core of this system, executing directives with little oversight while maintaining direct accountability to Ivanishvili."

Last year, mass protests erupted in Tbilisi following the introduction of legislation requiring media and civil society organizations receiving significant foreign funding to register under restrictive terms. Police responded forcefully, deepening concerns over the erosion of democratic rights.