The Georgian opposition’s decision to boycott local elections proved counter-productive. The authoritarian governing party will now have even more leeway.
Results from Georgia’s October 4 municipal elections indicated a landslide win for the ruling party Georgian Dream. With all 3,061 precincts counted across the country, the party — which has now held power for 13 years — won all the mayoral races and across all 64 municipalities. Georgian Dream secured victories in towns with over 70% of the vote, in some cases surpassing 80–90%.
It’s true that not all parties joined the opposition boycott and that turnout dropped from about 50% in 2021 to 41%, but the outcome simply consolidates more power in the hands of Georgian Dream. Unlike the 2024 general election, there were no widespread claims of vote-rigging — because there was no need to engage in electoral manipulation.
Municipal elections in Georgia have traditionally carried limited national significance and low geopolitical importance regarding the country’s foreign policy. Yet this year’s vote was viewed as a major test of the ruling party’s popularity, given that it struggled to win a majority in the parliamentary elections of October 2024 — elections widely condemned for “irregularities, deviations and anomalies.”
That parliamentary vote enabled a systematic crackdown on opponents and an extension of ruling party control over state institutions — from the judiciary and large parts of the media to electoral commissions.
In the run-up to the municipal elections, Georgia’s opposition forces splintered. Persistent infighting and the absence of a charismatic leader have left the opposition fragmented and ineffective. Street protests continue, but they are smaller and less organized than in late 2024, when massive turnouts were recorded. There are clear signs that the opposition is exhausted. With its key leaders in prison and no unifying figure in sight, its decision to boycott the vote risks eroding what little popular trust remains.
As for the opposition parties that did participate — the Lelo/Strong Georgia alliance and former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s For Georgia — the results proved underwhelming.