Japaridze Warns Legal Changes Could Bar Thousands From Politics
By Messenger Staff
Monday, October 19, 2026
Zurab Girchi Japaridze, a leader of the opposition Coalition for Change, has warned that proposed legal measures could prevent thousands of people from participating in Georgian politics, extending beyond the banning of opposition parties.
"It is not just several parties being banned. A fairly large segment of society that has been involved in public life in some form over recent years is effectively being prohibited from engaging in political activity," Japaridze wrote on social media.
He said the combined effects of a constitutional lawsuit and amendments to the Law on Political Associations of Citizens, the Criminal Code and the Law on Grants could have far-reaching consequences.
According to Japaridze, leaders of the four opposition coalitions and parties that won seats in the 2024 parliamentary elections could end up in prison or abroad. He said all 600 people on their electoral lists, as well as members of the Federalists, could be barred from political activity.
Japaridze also warned that restrictions could affect people who had worked in civil society over the past eight years and received a grant or salary from a foreign organization.
"If anyone tries to establish a new party that includes even one person from those 600 or from these thousands, or tens of thousands, that party will also be banned," he wrote.
Accusing Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili and his associates of seeking to eliminate political challengers, Japaridze said the public should understand the potential scope of the measures and avoid false expectations.
He urged opponents to continue resisting rather than wait for a single political figure to emerge and resolve the situation.
"It is possible to stop this and dismantle the evil system," Japaridze wrote, calling for continued action "wherever and however we can."
He announced a gathering outside Tbilisi State University on October 25 at 7 p.m.
