Georgia is holding local elections on October 4. Meanwhile, hundreds of people have taken to the streets in the capital, Tbilisi, to protest.
This is reported by Echo of the Caucasus and News Georgia.
Municipal elections in Georgia started at 08:00 local time. Citizens will elect 2 058 members of 64 municipal councils and 64 mayors.
12 parties are participating in the vote: "Fatherland, Language, Faith", "Conservatives for Georgia", "Our United Georgia", "Free Georgia", "Alliance of Patriots", "Strong Georgia — Lelo", "Georgia", Green Party, "Peopleʼs Power", "Gakharia — For Georgia", "Girchi" and "Georgian Dream".
In 26 cities and municipalities, only Georgian Dream nominated candidates for mayor.
Major opposition parties are boycotting the vote. Among them are the Coalition for Change and the United National Movement, which came in second and third place in the 2024 parliamentary elections. The Federalists and several other pro-Western forces are also not participating.
The elections in Georgia are taking place against a backdrop of political repression against opposition figures and civil society, leading to a large protest in central Tbilisi.
Participants hold flags of Georgia, the European Union, the United States and Ukraine, posters with anti-government slogans and photos of political prisoners — activists, journalists and politicians detained after protests that began late last year.
Periodically, the crowd chants: "Revolution!"
The protest was joined by eight opposition parties, who are boycotting the elections and calling them a "farce" and a "Russian special operation".
Police have stepped up security measures — special forces have been deployed in the parliament courtyard, and tow trucks have been spotted on Freedom Square. Journalists are reporting communication problems in the area around government buildings.
Georgian Prime Minister and leader of the “Georgian Dream” party Irakli Kobakhidze threatened the organizers and participants of the rally with prison terms if they violate the law. According to him, the authorities will respond to “any small surprise” with a “big surprise”.
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