Georgia heads to municipal elections amid partial opposition boycott

Georgia heads to the polls for local elections on Saturday, but some opposition parties are boycotting, casting doubt over the vote's legitimacy.

Eight opposition parties have refused to participate, accusing the ruling Georgian Dream party of undermining democracy and steering the country closer to Russia.

The boycott comes a year after a key parliamentary election, won by Georgian Dream.

Six of the eight parties boycotting Saturday’s vote had previously crossed the 5% threshold in the 2024 election, running in opposition coalitions.

Several pro-EU parties and civic platforms have announced that they will not take part in the vote and plan to stage protests on Saturday instead, with some organisers calling for what they dubbed “peaceful revolution” — without clarifying what concrete actions they intend to take.

Paata Burchuladze, renowned opera singer and member of the Rustaveli Avenue initiative, is one of those who announced that Saturday would mark a turning point for Georgia.

“On 4 October, Georgia will regain its freedom and its European future. I’m convinced we will be more numerous than ever. The plan is laid out, Georgia will win. Fight till the end,” he said.

Activists have branded the day of protests as a "National Assembly", in what they said was a symbolic gathering of citizens rallying against what they described as "democratic backsliding in Georgia".

"Some political actors, lacking any vision beyond confrontation, are attempting to turn the democratic process into a tool for destabilisation," Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze wrote in an op-ed for Euronews.

"But democracy is not only about protest — it is also about performance. And our government’s performance has been clear: we protect economic growth, we invest in our people, and we preserve peace in a challenging region,” he noted.

“Our path toward EU membership remains steady and irreversible. Georgia has always been a responsible partner," Kobakhidze said.

A divided opposition?

However, divisions persist within the opposition over how best to challenge the ruling party. While some factions have opted not to participate in the elections entirely, others argue that the ballot box still offers a viable path for political change.

The centrist liberal opposition party Lelo-Strong Georgia will take part in Saturday’s election. Its Secretary General Irakli Kupradze is running as a joint candidate of his party and Gakharia for Georgia in the Tbilisi mayoral race.

“We are trying to persuade citizens to go to the polls, and victory will be inevitable,” Kupradze said, warning that low turnout would give the Georgian Dream “a weapon and a mechanism” to use against voters.

The opposition’s mixed strategy, whether to boycott or compete in the municipal race, reflects a familiar weakness, according to German Social Democrat MEP Tobias Cremer.

“For the opposition, the big question is: do we participate, with the risk that there might be some sort of manipulation? We don’t know that yet. Or do we still try? And I think there are arguments on both sides,” he told Euronews.

The dilemma is compounded by “divisions among the opposition parties themselves,” he added.

Cremer co-authored a sharply worded resolution adopted by the European Parliament in Strasbourg last July, condemning, among other concerns, what EU lawmakers described as the “rigged parliamentary elections” held in Georgia on 26 October 2021.

Georgian Dream continues

Incumbent Tbilisi mayor and the Georgian Dream candidate, Kakha Kaladze, remained confident of securing a third term.

“We feel the support every day — people understand and can tell the difference between who is who and what each person stands for,” Kaladze said.

“This country is governed by the Georgian people — only those who live here, not someone acting on outside instructions or through agent networks.”

Local elections in Georgia follow more than 300 days of protests, sparked last November when the ruling Georgian Dream party suspended accession talks with the 27-member bloc. The unrest has led to arrests of opposition figures and demonstrators, raising concerns about democratic backsliding.

The OSCE's international observers will not monitor the upcoming municipal elections in Georgia, after the Georgian government issued a last-minute invitation deemed too late for effective deployment.

“Regrettably, the Georgian authorities’ decision to invite us at such a late stage prevents meaningful observation,” said Maria Telalian, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.