Election Reports

Key Findings and Conclusions

 

The next municipal elections in Georgia are scheduled for October 4, 2025. Citizens registered across 64 municipalities will have the right to elect both representative bodies (Sakrebulos - municipal councils) and executive bodies (mayors) of local self-government units. The official pre-election period commenced on August 5, 2025.

 

With this report, ISFED assessed the current environment at the outset of the pre-election period and the extent to which the necessary conditions for holding democratic elections are in place. The assessment also takes into account the European Union’s requirement for Georgia, as a candidate country, to ensure free, fair, and competitive elections. In ISFED’s view, the three conditions outlined in the Venice Commission’s Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters—respect for fundamental rights, stability of electoral law, and the existence of procedural guarantees—have largely not been met, significantly undermining the prospects for free, fair, and competitive elections.

 

Political Context

• Georgia is heading into municipal elections against a backdrop of political crisis, democratic backsliding, and a deteriorating human rights situation. The results of the 2024 parliamentary elections were widely criticized for failing to meet several election standards, prompting an opposition boycott and resulting in a de facto one-party parliament. In this context, the ruling Georgian Dream party has adopted repressive legislative amendments, intensified pressure on civil society and the media, and pursued the political persecution of opposition leaders. At the same time, protests have been suppressed through violent methods and restrictions on civil rights. Collectively, these developments have severely undermined the fundamental rights essential for upholding democratic principles.
• Georgia risks international isolation as it continues to deviate from democratic standards. The United States, the European Union, and several European states have imposed sanctions on leaders of the Georgian Dream party and representatives of law enforcement agencies. Recently adopted legislation, including the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and new restrictions on grants, has become a powerful tool for suppressing civil society and independent media. In this context, the upcoming municipal elections risk being neither competitive nor legitimate, but instead held under the shadow of a deep political crisis and the potential non-recognition of results.

 

Legislative Framework

• The country is approaching municipal elections following significant legislative amendments enacted after the 2024 parliamentary elections. These changes were introduced rapidly by the Georgian Dream party in a one-party process, without broad consultation. The amendments have substantially undermined key aspects of the electoral system, strengthened mechanisms for banning political parties, and restricted the operations of election observation organizations. Collectively, these measures compromise the fairness of the electoral process and further erode public trust in electoral institutions.

 

Electoral System

• Less than a year before the municipal elections, the Georgian Dream implemented fundamental changes to the electoral system for local representative bodies, which took the form of a manipulation. In the prevailing political context, these amendments were designed to create advantages for the Georgian Dream, fundamentally violating a core condition for upholding the principles of democratic elections as outlined in the Venice Commission’s Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters.
• In line with the interests of the Georgian Dream, the 40% threshold in the majoritarian component of the Sakrebulo elections was abolished; the proportion of majoritarian seats in municipal representative bodies was sharply increased; and the size of multi-member districts was reduced. The legal electoral threshold was raised in the proportional component, and the electoral formula was altered to favor the party with the best result. The creation of new single-member districts in the election year further violated international standards, undermining the principle of equal voting power—an essential element for upholding the fundamental right to equal suffrage.

 

Election Administration

• After the 2024 parliamentary elections, the ability to compose election commissions in a balanced manner was significantly weakened, while de facto control of these commissions by the Georgian Dream was further consolidated. According to the official election results, five parties gained parliamentary seats and, consequently, the right to appoint members to election commissions; however, only two - the Georgian Dream and the party Strong Georgia – Lelo, for People, for Freedom - exercised this right. As a result, the Central Election Commission currently comprises 10 members, a composition that substantially undermines the balance between party-appointed members and professionally elected members, which was intended when the 17-member commission was established. Moreover, the fact that professionally elected members of the election administration remain under the ruling party's influence continues to pose a challenge, further eroding public trust in the electoral body.
• As in the previous parliamentary elections, electronic technologies will be widely used in the municipal elections. In response to the systemic issue of compromised voter secrecy in 2024—such as visible marker traces—additional technical adjustments were introduced in 2025; however, their effectiveness remains questionable. Furthermore, public trust in electronic voting technologies continues to be low, and insufficient measures have been taken to address this challenge since the last parliamentary elections.

 

Political Parties

• The Georgian Dream has intensified its criminal prosecution of the opposition, leading to the imprisonment of the leaders of three parties that passed the threshold in the recent parliamentary elections. At the same time, an investigation is ongoing against the chairman of the fourth party. Simultaneously, the Georgian Dream has continued its anti-democratic rhetoric advocating the banning of opposition parties and has enacted legislative amendments to this effect, further heightening the risk of deepening authoritarianism in the country.
• Seventeen political parties have applied to the Central Election Commission for registration in the municipal elections, of which 14 have been approved. Meanwhile, several major opposition parties, including the Unity - National Movement and the Coalition for Change, have boycotted the elections in response to the ongoing persecution and arrests of civil activists and opposition leaders.
• Following the political developments after the 2024 parliamentary elections, the financial situation of opposition political unions has further worsened, sharply increasing disparities in party resources. The four main opposition parties lost the state funding they had received due to the results of the parliamentary elections, leaving 80% of state funding in the hands of the Georgian Dream. This inequality is further reinforced by the fact that 84% of private donations went exclusively to the Georgian Dream between January and July of this year. 

 

Media Environment

• In recent years, media freedom in Georgia has sharply declined, with violence against journalists becoming increasingly frequent. Following the 2024 elections, the Georgian Dream party adopted several legislative amendments that further restrict media operations and empower the Communications Commission with censorship tools. The revised Law on Freedom of Speech and Expression shifted the burden of proof in defamation cases onto defendants and weakened protections for source anonymity. Media coverage of court proceedings has also been significantly curtailed. Meanwhile, lawsuits and fines against independent journalists have taken on a punitive character. The criminal prosecution of journalist Mzia Amaglobeli exemplifies a deliberate, repressive policy targeting the media.
• Media pluralism in the country has further deteriorated ahead of the municipal elections. TV stations critical of the Georgian Dream face financial and legal pressures; Mtavari TV was shut down this year, and several regional outlets are confronting existential challenges. Government influence over the public broadcaster has grown. At the same time, the Georgian Dream’s media ecosystem—including anonymous pages and accounts—actively spreads anti-Western propaganda on social media and conducts discrediting campaigns, often echoing Russian narratives.

 

Election Observation

• The ability to conduct objective, non-partisan international and domestic election observation was severely curtailed. Breaking with two decades of precedent, the government did not invite an OSCE/ODIHR international observation mission. Simultaneously, the Central Election Commission restricted observers’ rights, and the Georgian Dream party intensified pressure on domestic observer organizations. Stigmatizing laws targeting civil society and restrictions on foreign grants further impeded the work of these organizations. As a result, the election observation mechanism—intended to ensure transparency—became a target of government control and pressure, which significantly limited the procedural guarantees necessary for democratic elections.