Opposition parties Lelo/Strong Georgia and For Georgia, which, unlike most of the opposition groups, are running in the upcoming local elections slated for October 4, have agreed to cooperate ahead of the vote, signing a relevant memorandum on July 14.
“We must exclude competition between us,” said Berdia Sichinava of ex-PM Giorgi Gakharia’s For Georgia party after the signing of the memorandum. “We will try to agree on common candidates for mayors,” he said, adding that they would aim for “non-partisan” and “neutral” figures, or alternatively, joint party nominees. He noted the same approach would apply to majoritarian candidates as well.
“Today, we have agreed on the basic principles of cooperation,” said Irakli Kupradze of Lelo/Strong Georgia. “This cooperation is exactly the key demand our citizens have,” he added, holding up the memorandum, which he described as a “compromised” document that he added “reflects” the citizens’ call for unity.
Most opposition parties have pledged to boycott the local elections, viewing participation as a betrayal of the resistance movement and opting instead for non-cooperation. In contrast, Lelo and Gakharia’s For Georgia say they aim to challenge the ruling Georgian Dream in every possible arena, believing they have a chance to win in major cities, including Tbilisi, where support for the ruling party is relatively weaker than in the regions.
Earlier, Aleko Elisashvili, leader of the Citizens’ party and member of the Lelo-led coalition, suggested in an interview with Palitranews the possibility of uniting the opposition around Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, as a potential mayoral candidate in Tbilisi. Zurabishvili leans toward supporting a boycott.
“There are no elections!” Salome Zurabishvili said in her July 9 remarks, calling the vote “only a topic” planted by the Georgian Dream to divide the opposition and pit them against each other. She instead called for greater unity among opposition parties and an expanded protest movement through her Resistance Platform.
Lelo/Strong Georgia – now comprising only Lelo and the Citizens’ party after Ana Dolidze’s For People and Freedom Square left the coalition – announced its decision to run in the elections on July 5. The move prompted three members of the party’s political council to resign from leadership, though they remain party members. Lelo leaders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze are among those currently jailed for refusing to testify before the Tsulukiani Commission, a Georgian Dream parliament’s temporary body tasked with investigating the alleged misdemeanor by former officials.
For Georgia’s leader Giorgi Gakharia, a former Interior Minister and Prime Minister under the Georgian Dream, is currently abroad. Prosecutors are investigating his role in the Chorchana checkpoint case and the 2019 crackdown on the “Gavrilov’s Night” rally, both of which occurred during his tenure as Interior Minister.
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