TBILISI, DFWatch–With just a few months left until Georgia’s local elections on October 4, the country’s opposition remains deeply divided.
Some parties are preparing to boycott the vote, while others intend to participate, hoping to secure victory in the capital and other opposition strongholds.
Efforts to unite the opposition, including a brief hunger strike by politician Elene Khoshtaria in front of the parliament building, have failed to produce common ground. Khoshtaria began her hunger strike on June 27, calling for a full opposition boycott of the elections. She was later joined by Gedevan Popkhadze.
Three days later, the protest was called off. Eight opposition parties declared their intention to not take part in October’s local elections, describing them as a façade legitimizing what they called an “illegal regime”.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has dismissed the moves. Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said elections would proceed regardless, and GD MP Gia Volski called the strike a symbolic gesture aimed at Western supporters rather than the Georgian public.
Key parties like Lelo and For Georgia, led by Mamuka Khazaradze and Giorgi Gakharia respectively, have not joined the boycott. Both leaders face legal or logistical constraints; Khazaradze remains jailed, and Gakharia is reportedly abroad. Their representatives insist that participating in the vote is a legitimate form of resistance.
Analysts expect elections to proceed without the main opposition blocs. Professor Nika Chitadze predicts only smaller parties will compete in October, while Gia Abashidze called the hunger strike a “fiasco” that failed to change the political momentum.