- Women Mayors writers
- Jul 3
- 6 min read
The Republic of Georgia’s opposition parties unite in a boycott of the 2025 local elections
Opposition leader Elene Khoshtaria ended her hunger strike after eight pro-European parties agreed to challenge the government's anti-European and anti-democratic policies
Georgian opposition leader Elene Khoshtaria ended her hunger strike after eight anti-government parties agreed to boycott the 2025 municipal elections. She also called for further peaceful protests against the government’s anti-European policies
July 2025: Eight pro-European opposition parties in the Republic of Georgia have agreed to join a boycott of local elections to be held in the country in October 2025. The boycott has also won the backing of civic groups supporting closer ties with Europe. The deal was announced by Elene Khoshtaria, leader of the Droa! party, who had threatened to continue her hunger strike unless pro-European parties coordinated their opposition to the Russia-friendly government under Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze from the populist Georgian Dream party. Elene Khoshtaria began her hunger strike on 30 June in front of the Georgian Parliament in Tbilisi as a show of solidarity with imprisoned opposition politicians.
The opposition’s main demands are:
• A re-run of the October 2024 parliamentary election, which international observers described as deeply flawed.
• A resumption of accession negotiations with the European Union (EU)
• The suspension of the Foreign Agent Registration Act.
• The release of all political prisoners and those detained during anti-government protests.
Full statement by the Georgian opposition parties supporting the boycott:
We, the pro-Western political parties and groups of Georgia, whose goal is to dismantle Ivanishvili’s Russian regime, protect the country’s independence and sovereignty, and establish European-style democratic governance, jointly declare:
1. We refuse to take part in the so-called local self-government elections, as participation would only legitimise an illegitimate Russian-backed regime and would not serve the interests of our citizens.
2. Recognising the need for unity, we commit to uncompromising, principled action to accelerate the end of the oligarchic, undemocratic system. We believe non-cooperation is the path to victory. Alongside Georgian citizens, we will continue national resistance until the end.”
The news agency ‘Civil Georgia’ wrote that the issue of participation in the October local elections remains contentious. “Some in the opposition view participation as a betrayal of the ongoing resistance, while others have framed it as an opportunity to challenge the ruling party, Georgian Dream, particularly in major cities, where the party’s influence is weaker than in rural regions.”
While Georgia’s opposition parties discussed how to organise public protests right up to the local elections, the country’s parliament passed a law that curtails the reporting of court proceedings. Under the new rules, only court-authorised recordings are permitted. The move will enable the government to avert the type of public embarrassments that have occurred during recent trials, when police officers were caught lying on the stand. Several activists also used courtroom appearances to deliver defiant, widely shared messages denouncing government abuses.
Georgia’s local government elections 2025
In October 2025, Georgians will be asked to elect mayors in 59 self-governing communities and four self-governing cities, including the capital, Tbilisi. Members of 59 municipal councils and the four self-governing cities’ assemblies are elected through a mixed direct and proportional electoral system. Of the 50 members of the Tbilisi City Assembly, 40 are directly elected, with 10 chosen by political parties according to their strength in the assembly. In the last elections, held in October 2021, Georgia’s ruling Georgia Dream party secured 29 seats in the capital assembly.
The Republic of Georgia’s ‘Foreign Agent Registration Act’
Georgia's ‘Foreign Agents Registration Act’, also known as the ‘Transparency of Foreign Influence’ law, requires organisations and individuals receiving more than 20 per cent of their funding from a foreign source and engaging in ‘political activities’ to register as ‘foreign agents’. This law has sparked significant controversy and criticism, with opponents arguing it mirrors similar legislation in Russia and Hungary used to suppress dissent and limit civil dialogue. The Georgian government claims the act was a word-for-word translation of the US ‘Foreign Agents Registration Act’.
In a statement released in May 2025, the EU strongly criticised the Act:
Georgia's Foreign Agents Registration Act marks a serious setback for the country's democracy. Alongside recent laws on broadcasting and grants, it represents another aggressive action by the Georgian authorities to suppress dissent, restrict freedoms, and further shrink the space for activists, civil society, and independent media. These repressive measures threaten the very survival of Georgia's democratic foundations and the future of its citizens in a free and open society.
In its June and October 2024 conclusions, the European Council found that the Act would jeopardise Georgia's path to EU membership. The EU urged the Georgian authorities to heed their citizens' clear demands for democracy and a European future, and to release all unjustly detained journalists, activists, protesters, and political leaders. “The EU is ready to consider the return of Georgia to the EU accession path if the authorities take credible steps to reverse democratic backsliding. The responsibility lies solely with the Georgian authorities.”
Experts with the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) also urged Georgia to scrap the law, as did the country’s bilateral and multilateral partners.
In June 2025, the British Embassy in Tbilisi issued a statement revealing that it had been blocked from disbursing grants to civil society groups for voter education and election monitoring.
“The United Kingdom has tried, in good faith, to seek approval for several grants. However, after discussion with the Georgian authorities, we have been told that the planned Government Decree establishing a procedure for grant approvals is not finalised, and therefore no mechanism or timeframe currently exists for grant approval decisions,” the embassy wrote.
The Republic of Georgia and Europe
In March 2022, Georgia applied for EU membership. In December, the European Council granted Georgia conditional candidate status. The nine conditions included a free, fair and competitive election process as well as improving the protection of human rights. Given Russia’s political influence in Georgia, the EU also asked for an improvement of Georgia’s alignment with Europe’s common foreign and security policies.
In November 2024, the Georgian government suspended EU accession negotiations. The ruling party’s decision followed the European Parliament’s claim that Georgia’s parliamentary election, one month earlier, did not measure up to European standards.
In February 2025, the European Council on Foreign Affairs wrote in a commentary that the elections were marred by widespread fraud. For instance, the authors claimed that some 300,000 votes were cast using stolen ID numbers of absent citizens. The EU, together with the US and Britain, imposed sanctions as a response to the ‘fraudulent nature of the ruling party’s re-election’.
Anti-government protests
Since the Georgian government suspended talks on the country’s accession to the EU, anti-government protests and demonstrations have taken place every week across the country. On 15 June 2025, to mark 200 days of dissent, protests erupted in towns and cities. Participants in the demonstrations demanded a re-run of the October 2024 elections, the release of political prisoners and the resumption of EU accession talks.
So far, the demands of the protesters have been met with further arrests by the authorities. According to human rights groups, hundreds of protesters have been arrested since last year. Among those charged was Georgia’s former president, Salome Zourabichvili. She was fined for ‘blocking the road during protests’. In a statement, she said: “A country where there is no justice is no country; is no state. Everyone will pay the price for this tomorrow or the day after.”
In its 2025 World Report, Human Rights Watch described Georgia as a country that in 2024 took significant steps backwards on human rights. “Several new repressive laws undermine freedom of expression and of association.”
The report also questions the legitimacy of the 2024 parliamentary election. “In October, the ruling party claimed decisive victory in a highly disputed parliamentary election, which opposition parties, the country’s then-president Salome Zurabishvili, and independent observer groups claimed was marred by intimidation, vote-buying, and fraud.“
The Republic of Georgia’s main political parties
Georgian Dream has ruled the country since 2012. Politically, it is populist and right-wing. It was founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili in 2012. He is said to have strong ties to Russia.
United National Movement is a liberal conservative party.
Ahali is a liberal, pro-European party.
For Georgia is a centrist, pro-European party.
Lelo for Georgia is a liberal, pro-European party.
Girchi – More Freedom is a libertarian, pro-European party.
For the People is a centre-left, pro-European party.
Droa! is a leftist-liberal, pro-European party. It supports LGBT and other minority rights.
Sources: Council of Europe; European Commission; European Council on Foreign Relations; Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); British Embassy in Tbilisi; Human Rights Watch; EurAsianet; Anadolu Agency (AA); Interpress News; Civil Georgia; Georgian Public Broadcaster; Global Voices
Methodology: The research was carried out between 30 June and 3 July 2025
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