Democracy is regressing in Georgia: municipal elections are taking place without impartial supervision

Democracy is regressing in Georgia: municipal elections are taking place without impartial supervision

Facing deep democratic backsliding, Georgia heads into local elections with opposition parties sidelined, watchdogs forced out by the different restrictive laws, international monitors invited too late, and oversight left largely to groups aligned with the ruling party.

In addition to opposition leaders remaining jailed and several parties boycotting Georgia’s upcoming local elections on October 4, the vote will, for the first time in decades, proceed without oversight from major international organizations—such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)—which declined to send monitoring missions after receiving invitations too late.

Domestic watchdogs warn that the ruling Georgian Dream party, in power since 2012, has filled the gap with groups that appear to be independent observers but are perceived as favoring the ruling party.

“Free, fair and competitive elections are not possible under the current conditions,” said Levan Natroshvili, executive director of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED). His NGO monitored elections nationwide until this year. “Our bank accounts were frozen by court order, and new laws make it almost impossible to receive grants. Without resources, it is not possible to run a proper mission.”

As of September 29, the Central Election Commission listed 23 organizations with 7,865 registered observers. Of these, 7,138 came from just five groups seen as linked to Georgian Dream.

Two of the largest were founded by lawyer Grigol Gagnidze in 2012 and 2016. He and his wife now run both, fielding 5,862 observers. On social media, Gagnidze regularly shares ruling-party posts. Local media and NGOs have accused their representatives of harassing journalists at polling stations and backing the regime.

In the 2024 parliamentary election, independent TV channel Mtavari Arkhi aired footage of members of his organization celebrating the party’s victory with the former mayor of Marneuli, a municipality on the Azerbaijani border. 

The two groups have long been controversial: during the 2018 presidential election, their representatives were caught transporting voters in minibuses to support ruling-party candidates. In the 2023 extraordinary election, ISFED reported that observers from “Politics and Law Observer,” headed by Gagnidze’s wife, were tracking voters at polling stations.

Gagnidze did not respond to questions.

Another group, “Association Free Generation,” is deploying 809 observers. Its director, Shorena Mirshkhulava, has publicly backed Georgian Dream. In a recent post, she endorsed a ruling-party candidate in Zugdidi, calling him “a wonderful person, so kind and sincere” with heart emojis. After a party lawmaker was appointed to lead the State Security Office in September, she posted a photo with him, writing: “I wish you success in guarding the country’s security,” again with a heart emoji.

In response to OCCRP, Mirshkhulava said opinions expressed on her personal social media — whether critical or supportive of public figures — reflect only her own views and “cannot in any way be used to discredit the organization.”

“Our organization’s volunteer observers are registered in full compliance with the law. As Georgian citizens, each of them has the right to hold personal political opinions and make individual choices. However, this in no way affects the fairness and legality of their election monitoring. If any observer violates the law, he or she will be held accountable,” she added.

Other pro-government groups include “Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights,” which has registered 151 observers and is led by Nana Kakabadze, an activist in a pro-government movement that has called opposition voters a “sect” who should be prosecuted. 

Kakabadze did not respond to questions.

“Tsin Svla” (Moving Forward), headed by Shalva Kuchashvili, will deploy 316 observers; he has been linked to clashes at polling stations, and local media reported he confronted other observers during the 2024 parliamentary election.

OCCRP reporters also found that on September 25, Kuchashvili personally accompanied a ruling-party candidate on a visit with locals in a Tbilisi district. In a video posted by the candidate, he is seen walking alongside him, greeting residents with handshakes and distributing election materials.

In response to an OCCRP inquiry, Kuchashvili denied cooperating with the ruling party.“For years, the radical opposition has prevented Georgia from moving forward,” he said, adding that his organization was originally created in that environment. 

“We stand against anyone who opposes the country’s progress and peaceful development,” he added. Kuchashvili insisted they are not taking sides.

“We have heard statements from the radical opposition about plans to disrupt the election process. Our role is to observe such incidents and inform the public as necessary. The best interests of voters lie in ensuring a transparent and safe election — that is what we will monitor,” he said.

“These observer groups create the illusion of real monitoring and allow the ruling party to fill precincts with loyalists and claim that everything is transparent,” said ISFED’s Natroshvili.

Another independent NGO, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, will also miss the election for the first time in its 31-year history. “These local self-government elections are taking place in one of the most difficult political and legal environments in Georgia’s modern history,” Public Relations Manager Elene Ramishvili told OCCRP, citing “democratic backsliding, repressive policies against civil society and the media, the adoption of restrictive laws, and the erosion of the legal framework for election observers.”

Maria Telalian, Director of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), which observes elections, reviews legislation, and advises governments on developing and sustaining democratic institutions, said Georgia’s late invitation prevented “meaningful observation” and that the office “will not be in a position to deploy a mission.”

While no major international or independent local groups will monitor the vote, the election commission lists 80 observers from one association and 29 countries, including Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Bulgaria.

The election follows months of political turmoil. Since early 2024, protests have rocked Georgian streets after parliament passed a “foreign agents” law—widely referred to as the “Russian law”—forcing NGOs and media receiving over 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register or face up to five years in prison.

The movement swelled in November after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced Georgia would delay EU accession talks until 2028. Since March, prosecutors have frozen the bank accounts of more than a dozen NGOs, including ISFED, the Human Rights House of Tbilisi, and the Civil Society Foundation. The government also extended its crackdown on opposition parties, arresting seven political figures in June and pardoning only two ahead of the election in early September.

“So that no one has even a pretext to say that the local self-government elections are taking place under limited competitiveness, I made the decision to pardon two convicts,” President Mikheil Kavelaishvili wrote on Facebook.