TBILISI, August 13 – In Georgia, the opposition United National Movement (UNM), currently boycotting parliament, is openly discussing a “peaceful revolution” to change power on October 4.
Party leader Levan Khabeishvili even launched a Facebook poll asking supporters if they would attend a planned rally. Around 4,700 people responded, with 92% saying yes.
UNM chair Tina Bokuchava frames the plan as an effort to unite society against what she calls political fragmentation fostered by ruling party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili. She draws parallels with nonviolent movements from the Philippines to Poland, and with UNM’s own 2003 “Rose Revolution.”
But other opposition parties that passed the electoral threshold, including Lelo and For Georgia, have distanced themselves. Their representatives question the clarity and viability of the October 4 strategy, urging the use of formal political tools and warning against raising expectations without explaining what comes after.
Analysts are divided. Political scientist Nika Chitadze sees the poll as a way for UNM to gauge turnout potential but warns that promising immediate government change could backfire if nothing happens on the day. Veteran analyst Petre Mamradze is more dismissive, calling the campaign a PR stunt and arguing that there are no economic or social conditions for a power shift.
