Eight Opposition Parties: "We Recognize Only Free Parliamentary Elections and Will Secure Them Through Firm, Ongoing Regime Isolation"
By Messenger Staff
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Despite calls for unity, Georgia's pro-Western opposition has splintered over the upcoming October 2025 local elections, but not along equal lines. Out of the major opposition forces, only two parties - Giorgi Gakharia's party and the Lelo-led "Strong Georgia" alliance - have announced they will participate. The remaining eight pro-European opposition parties have declared that what is scheduled for October can no longer be considered a legitimate election at all.
According to these eight parties, Georgian Dream has dismantled the foundations of a democratic process. They cite a series of laws rushed through parliament that block international election observers, concentrate control over election commissions, and criminalize legitimate forms of protest. In their view, the ruling party has stolen the country's right to free and fair elections.
The European Parliament's resolution openly criticized the electoral framework, signaling that elections held under such conditions cannot accurately reflect the democratic will of the Georgian people, especially when opposition leaders remain imprisoned and key democratic standards remain unmet.
Meanwhile, boycott-supporting parties have vowed that their response will not be passive. A protest on July 19 marked the beginning of a coordinated campaign aimed at delegitimizing the election and exposing what they describe as a Russian-style operation orchestrated by Georgian Dream. According to organizers, the October 4 vote is not an election, but a staged performance, and they refuse to lend it credibility by participating.
As the Georgian Dream government prepares for a vote it claims will confirm its mandate, it also moves to outlaw key pro-European political parties through Georgia's Constitutional Court.
Georgian Dream dismisses the European Parliament's resolution and insists that there is no protest energy left in the country. But with growing talk of international sanctions and active resistance at home, the crisis is far from over.
