On September 26, the ruling Georgian Dream party displayed new campaign banners around Tbilisi. The banners depict the devastation brought by Russia’s war in Ukraine on one side and similar locations in “peaceful” Georgia on the other. The slogan is “Say no to war—Choose peace,” and the party numbers of the main opposition coalitions are crossed out on the poster’s grim “war” side.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned Georgian Dream’s new campaign banners, considering it unacceptable to use images of the horrific consequences of Russia’s ruthless war against Ukraine in political advertising. In its statement, the Ministry also stressed that the Georgian people “need not fear a new war as long as Ukraine resists Russian aggression,” adding that “the terrible price of this resistance is also the price of peace in Georgia.”
President Salome Zurabishvili also slammed GD’s new banners in the strongest terms. “I have never seen anything more shameful, so offensive to our culture, traditions, history, and faith… How have you fallen so low to offer your people a poster made in the KGB forge!.. Go to hell “With dignity,” the President said in a Facebook post. Later, Zurabishvili praised the statement of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, describing it as an example of dignity.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze reacted to U.S. President Joe Biden’s canceled invitation to the traditional UNGA reception, calling it “not serious” and describing Biden’s decision as a last-ditch “humanitarian act of support” to the Georgian opposition, further claiming that “it will have no practical effect” on the failing opposition. The other government and ruling party officials also responded with outrage and disdain to Biden’s decision to disinvite the Georgian Prime Minister from the traditional UNGA reception.
All political parties, including the ruling Georgian Dream, the “Unity – to Save Georgia” coalition, the “Strong Georgia” coalition, the “For Georgia” party, and the “Coalition for Change,” unveiled their lists of MP candidates for the upcoming October elections. The ruling Georgian Dream party unveiled its full list of 170 MP candidates for the upcoming October elections, although the Georgian parliament has 150 seats. September 26, was the deadline for parties to submit their lists of parliamentary candidates.
Chiatura Management Company, which manages manganese mining, issued a statement regarding the protesting Shukruti residents, calling their protest “artificially manipulated” by NGOs “linked to radical opposition parties.” The company statement repeats the phraseology from the statements by the government officials and the ruling party. The residents of Shukruti village have been protesting for six months against the damage caused to their homes by the manganese mining practices of the company.