In the 1999 parliamentary elections, it took 130 of 235 seats, and was the party of government, under president Eduard Shevardnadze. In 2003 fresh elections were held, and the original result gave it a large majority. The results were later annulled after Shevardnadze resigned.
Various prominent Georgian opposition leaders such as Nino Burjanadze and Mikhail Saakashvili had been members of the Citizen's Union, but became disillusioned, and left in 2001.