8 Georgian political parties announce boycott of October local elections

Eight political parties in Georgia on Tuesday announced their boycott of local elections this October.

The political parties Freedom Square, European Georgia, United National Movement, Strategy Agmashenebeli, Akhali, Girchi - More Freedom, Droa, and the Federalists said that they view the local elections as "legitimizing an illegal regime," in a statement posted on Georgian broadcaster 1TV.

The political forces pledged to continue their "resistance efforts towards eliminating the oligarchic system."

In May 2024, massive protests erupted across Georgia due to a "foreign agents" law.

Both the EU and US criticized the actions taken by Georgian authorities. At that time, the ruling party, Georgian Dream, accused the West of financing a revolutionary scenario in Georgia.

Protests continued into last fall, sparked by the victory of Georgian Dream in parliamentary elections, which the opposition branded fraudulent.