Month: June 2025
Elene Khoshtaria, leader of the Droa party, said she was ending her hunger strike as she was joined by representatives of seven other opposition parties pledging to boycott the October 4 local elections, an issue that has recently divided the Georgian opposition. However, Lelo and Gakharia’s For Georgia, the two major parties that have leaned towards participation, were absent from the unity.
“We refuse to participate in the so-called local elections because we believe that, under the current conditions, taking part in this process will not serve the interests of our citizens and will only provide a facade for the illegal Russian regime,” Khoshtaria read out from the joint statement in the evening of June 30 on Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue.
The boycotting parties include Freedom Square, European Georgia, United National Movement, Strategy Aghmashenebeli, Ahali, Girchi–More Freedom, Droa, and the Federalists. The statement suggested “complete non-cooperation with the regime” as a path to victory.
“With this spirit and attitude, I’m glad to announce the end of my hunger strike […] for all of us to move to a very active phase of struggle,” Khoshtaria said.
The statement comes three days after Droa’s leader announced a hunger strike as a “new form of struggle,” citing jailings of opposition leaders and tragic reports of detained protesters losing family members while in custody. She said in her June 29 statement that she was awaiting the positions of those parties that had yet to announce whether they would participate in the local elections, noting that clarity from political parties about their strategy for the struggle was “crucial at this point.”
However, with the positions of Lelo/Strong Georgia and Gakharia-For Georgia still unannounced, the clarity is yet to be achieved. While Lelo has insisted on participation, the party has repeatedly implied it was seeking unity over the matter.
While some in the opposition have viewed participation in the municipal vote as a betrayal of the ongoing resistance, others have framed it as an opportunity to challenge Georgian Dream, particularly in major cities, where the ruling party’s influence is weaker than in the regions. The issue remains contentious, especially as six opposition leaders are currently jailed over their boycott of the Georgian Dream parliamentary commission, with five already sentenced to months in prison.
Five people, including former MP Gedevan Popkhadze and four activists, had joined Khoshtaria in her hunger strike. All of them ended the hunger strike following the announcement, Nanuka Zhorzholiani, an activist and TV personality, reported late on June 30.
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