Ruling party claims victory in Georgian elections amid major protests
Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party won a resounding victory in local government elections amid mass protests over the government's pro-Russian stance and alleged vote rigging, according to official results announced by the Central Election Commission late on Oct. 4.
The Georgian Dream candidates won all cities and municipalities in Georgia, with Kakha Kaladze receiving 77.4% of the vote in Tbilisi, cementing his third term as mayor of the country's capital.
Many pro-Western opposition parties, including the Coalition for Change and the United National Movement, boycotted the vote, protesting against alleged electoral fraud.
Georgian authorities detained five opposition members during mass protests on the election day, accusing them of inciting the government's overthrow, Georgian media outlet Paper Kartuli reported on Oct. 5. If convicted, the accused could face up to nine years in prison.
Voting ended at 8 p.m., by which time thousands of anti-government protestors had already taken to the streets and marched towards the presidential palace. Riot police deployed water canons and pepper spray after some protestors attempted to break the palace fences.
The protesters also built barricades and set them on fire.
The elections were monitored by 28 international organizations – 13 less than in the 2021 municipal elections. Missing from the monitoring mission was the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which received the invitation less than a month before the vote.
Last year's parliamentary elections ignited a nationwide protest movement in Georgia, after the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party defeated the pro-European opposition in a vote marred by allegations of widespread electoral fraud.
Most of the pro-Western opposition boycotted the new parliament due to the alleged vote rigging and refused to take their mandates.
Following the vote, the European Commission suspended Georgia's EU accession process, highlighting the growing rift between Tbilisi and the West. Another wave of protests broke out after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze made the decision in November 2024 to postpone Georgia's talks on joining the EU until 2028.
The Georgian Dream party, led by Kobakhidze and oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, has faced accusations of democratic backsliding and steering the country closer to the Kremlin.
Abbey Fenbert
