Friday, December 5, 2025

Georgia’s GD threatens to declare ALDE “terrorist backers”

TBILISI, December 4 – The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party confronted the liberal group in European politics Thursday, demanding that ALDE publicly distance itself from opposition politician Aleko Elisashvili. The ultimatum follows Elisashvili’s arrest November 29 on charges of attempting a terrorist act, a case that has fueled intense discussions in Georgia’s divided political scene … Read more

Constitutional Court to decide fate of three Georgian opposition parties

TBILISI, November 4 – Georgia’s Constitutional Court has begun reviewing a petition filed by 88 members of parliament that seeks to outlaw three major opposition political parties, accusing them of acting against the country’s constitutional order. The case, announced Monday and published on the court’s official website, will be handled by the court’s First Collegium. … Read more

Georgian Dream pushes to outlaw Saakashvili’s UNM and two allies

TBILISI, October 29 – Georgia’s ruling party Georgian Dream has formally petitioned the Constitutional Court to ban three opposition parties, accusing them of working to undermine the country’s democratic order. The move, announced Tuesday, has set off fierce debate in Tbilisi and beyond, with critics calling it a political purge and supporters saying it’s a … Read more

Opposition says 18 percent of Georgians now depend on welfare

TBILISI, September 25 – One in five Georgians is now officially dependent on social assistance, opposition politician Tazo Datunashvili said Wednesday. The Lelo politician blasted Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s government for boasting about “unprecedented economic growth” while poverty deepens. He pointed to fresh welfare statistics showing 708,764 people receiving subsistence aid in August 2025, up … Read more

Will Georgia’s opposition rally turn on itself October 4?

TBILISI, September 25 – With Georgia’s hotly contested October 4 local elections just days away, opposition party Lelo is weighing whether to show up at a major street rally in Tbilisi the same evening. The move could put the party on a collision course with other opposition groups that have vowed to boycott the vote. … Read more

Opposition Lelo vows cameras at every Tbilisi polling station to catch fraud

TBILISI, September 22 – The opposition Lelo party says it will deploy cameras at every voting precinct in Tbilisi so that no one can vote at a station where they are not registered. The party’s mayoral candidate, Irakli Kupradze, said they expect the October 4 vote will not be fair and vowed to “fight on … Read more

Georgia speaker blasts US Congress ‘Nightmare’ proposal

TBILISI, September 20 – Georgia’s parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili has strongly rejected a new sanctions package proposed in the U.S. Congress. The so-called “Georgian Nightmare Act” was adopted as a proposed addition to the National Defense Authorization Act by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and would instruct officials not to take any action or allocate funds … Read more

Opposition leaders freed weeks before local elections

TBILISI, September 6 – Two of Georgia’s best-known opposition figures, Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, walked free on Friday, after being pardoned by President Mikheil Kavelashvili. Both men are leading figures in the Lelo party, and had been serving prison sentences since June for defying a parliamentary investigation into the country’s turbulent political past. Their … Read more

Opposition candidate meets voters in Tbilisi’s poor neighborhoods

TBILISI, August 31 – Irakli Kupradze, a candidate for mayor of Tbilisi, has been meeting residents in the city’s Samgori and Varketili districts. His campaign team, backed by two pro-EU opposition parties, said he was out meeting people in order to listen directly to their everyday problems. Kupradze pledged that, if elected, addressing these local … Read more

Two opposition parties agree on joint candidates to ‘take back’ the capital

TBILISI, August 18 – Two Georgian opposition parties, Lelo and For Georgia, have named Irakli Kupradze as their joint candidate for Tbilisi mayor in the October 4 local elections. Giorgi Sharashidze was presented as candidate for chairman of the City Council, while Aleko Elisashvili and Tata Khvedeliani were put forward as deputy mayoral candidates. The … Read more