Against a backdrop of boycotts, arrests and more than 300 days of anti-government protest, tensions are rising in Georgia ahead of municipal elections next Saturday, October 4.
Ordinarily, local elections attract limited attention, but Georgia has been gripped by political turmoil since last year’s parliamentary elections, held on October 26, 2024.
The incumbent Georgian Dream party claimed victory, but opposition parties refused to recognise the results and international observers noted electoral irregularities.
Since then, Georgian Dream has pushed through a series of controversial laws targeting NGOs, independent media, protesters and the LGBTQ+ community.
The decision to halt Georgia’s EU integration process proved even more incendiary, sparking mass protests that, although smaller now, continue daily outside parliament.
The municipal elections will be the first major test of public opinion since protests erupted.
For Georgian Dream, they are a chance to shore up its mandate in the face of criticism for democratic backsliding from European leaders.
Meanwhile, the opposition is divided: some parties are boycotting the vote, while others see the elections as an opportunity to reignite a flagging protest movement.
Who’s running?
This year’s elections will have an unusually low number of parties on the ballot. Georgian Dream, the country’s ruling party since 2012, is running uncontested in almost half of all municipalities, according to data from the Central Election Commission.
Just three mainstream opposition parties are putting forward candidates: an alliance of centrist parties, the Lelo/Strong Georgia coalition, and Gakharia for Georgia, a party founded by former Prime Minister and Georgian Dream defactor Giorgi Gakharia.
The spotlight will be on the Tbilisi mayoral race, where Georgian Dream mayor Kakha Kaladze, is seeking a third term in office, facing opposition candidates Irakli Kupradze from Lelo, and Giorgi Sharashidze, from Gakharia for Georgia.
Opposition candidates hope that winning the Tbilisi City Council would amplify anti-government voices and serve as a symbolic victory over Georgian Dream.
Who’s not running and why?
Eight opposition parties are boycotting the local elections, calling on supporters to stay away from the polls.
They announced their decision in July, arguing that participating in the elections would only serve to legitimise Georgian Dream, and that abstaining from the vote is part of their wider refusal to recognise the results of the 2024 election.
The boycott declaration came following the arrest of six high profile opposition figures, including Nika Melia, former chair of the United National Movement (UNM) party and one of the most prominent opposition figures in the country.
Some of those arrested- including Melia- were given jail sentences ranging from seven to eight months, and banned from office for two years.
Lelo leaders Badri Japardize and Mamuka Khazaradze were also jailed in recent months for their refusal to take part in a controversial parliamentary investigation into the government that preceded Georgian Dream, led by UNM’s Mikheli Saakashvili.
Georgian Dream later offered pardons if the leaders’ parties participated in the elections. Japaridze and Kharadze, whose party had already committed to taking part in the vote, were acquitted, but the four other opposition leaders remain behind bars.
The boycott has opened up deep divisions within the opposition, with government critics calling participation in the elections a “betrayal” of the protest movement and of jailed activists.
Tensions brewing
As election day creeps closer, tensions have been rising in Tbilisi.
Violence broke out on September 8, on the street outside Georgian Dream candidate Kakha Kaladze’s campaign headquarters, leaving several protesters and journalists injured.
According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), demonstrators allege that their protest was met by men armed with metal rods, who started attacking them.
“Instead of stopping the violent groups who threatened and insulted us by name and used violence against both journalists and protesters, police tried to push us away,” reporter Ketevan Khutsushvili told the OCCRP.
A day later, the electoral watchdog for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) announced that it would not monitor the vote, blaming a late invitation from Georgian Dream in a move which fueled concerns over fairness.
Plans for demonstrations on election day have also been circulating in the capital.
Prominent opera singer and anti-government activist Paata Burchuladze announced in July that October 4 would be a “historic day of victory”, calling for the “peaceful overthrow” of Georgian Dream founder, billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Burchadze further noted he expected a turnout of between 200,000 and 300,000 people, numbers similar to the height of anti-government protests in November 2024..
Major opposition parties have endorsed the calls for action, whilst the government has warned of harsh punishments for any lawbreaking on election day.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze called on people to “treat their rhetoric with caution”, whilst parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili warned that organisers and participants in any form of political violence would be held accountable.
Featured image:
Image: Protests against the law ‘on foreign influence’, Tbilisi, 21 April 2024
Author: Jelger Groenveld via Wikimedia Commons
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