Amnesty International: "Local elections in Georgia take place amid repression"
Amnesty International on elections in Georgia
Amnesty International says Georgia’s local elections are taking place amid harsh political repression against opposition parties and civil society.
The elections are scheduled for 4 October 2025. On the same day, a large protest is planned in Tbilisi with the declared aim of “peacefully overthrowing the government.”
The ruling Georgian Dream party and two opposition parties taking part in the vote are urging people to go to the polls. But organisers of the protest, along with parties boycotting the elections, are calling on citizens to join the rally instead of casting their ballots.
The vote is going ahead even though opposition leaders are in jail. Six opposition figures – virtually all those who played an active role in the protest movement – remain in custody.
Amnesty International points to a sweeping campaign of repression, including politically motivated prosecutions of opposition members, restrictions and punitive measures against independent media and civil society, as well as mass arbitrary detentions and ill-treatment of protesters.
“Opposition leaders are in prison, and civil society organisations are under pressure. The Georgian authorities are running a campaign that strips people of their rights to free expression and peaceful assembly.
The authorities must honour their human rights obligations and put an end to the unlawful use of police force, arbitrary detentions, torture and other forms of ill-treatment of protesters. These violations have plunged the country into a deep human rights crisis since the parliamentary elections in October 2024,” said Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Amnesty International on elections in Georgia
News in Georgia
