Georgian Dream or Democratic Nightmare? Saqartvelo (Georgia) at the Crossroads of Europe and Russian Authoritarianism
Georgia finds itself at a historic crossroads — between European Union-granted autonomy and Russian authoritarianism. The streets of Tbilisi echo with the voices of freedom-loving Georgians, and their resistance is palpable in the air. Anger, defiance, and an unshakable determination to safeguard their democratic future drive them forward. Every day in every city of Georgia, people march in support of a European future. The Rustaveli Square is filled with chanting in unison: “Ara rusul kanon!” (No to Russian laws). Their protests represent more than an unbreakable struggle against authoritarianism; they signify a nation’s steadfast resistance to attempts to drag Georgia back into the Kremlin’s shadow.
The results of Georgia’s parliamentary elections on October 26th, 2024, sent shockwaves through the global political landscape. Georgian Dream, a party spearheaded by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, won a single majority with 54.97% of the popular vote. The current ruling party is known for its anti-Western, pro-Kremlin stance, reflected in its policies, among which are laws banning so-called “LGBT propaganda” and requiring NGOs and media sources receiving foreign funding to register as “foreign agents.” The reintroduction of the latter acts sparked massive protests in the spring of 2024.
This political discourse resulted in a harsh response from the European Union, suspending high-level meetings with Georgian officials and making it clear that the country’s membership in the EU is unforeseeable without democratic reforms. In tandem, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the suspension of negotiations on joining the European Union until 2028. His ruling incited mass protests across the country. According to opinion polls, about 89% of Georgians support European integration. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili–who herself was elected with the support of the Georgian Dream–has openly opposed the pro-Russian stance of the government. “They stole your vote," argued Zurabishvili who pointed out that the election results were due to “Russian special operation -- one of the new forms of hybrid warfare.”
A couple of days before the elections, national opinion polls predicted a significant decline in support for the Georgian Dream: According to the American company Edison Research, the ruling party was supported by only 41% of voters, a number significantly less than the results of previous parliamentary elections in 2020. However, the official results published by the election commission gave conflicting results, indicating a victory for Georgian Dream, a finding that caused outrage among opposition and independent observers.
The elections were accompanied by numerous allegations of election manipulation, which, according to experts and observers, significantly influenced their outcome. The main methods of fraud included so-called “electoral carousels”, pressure on voters, control of voting through video surveillance, and abnormally high results for the ruling party in certain districts.
One of the most evident methods of fraud was the widespread use of “electoral carousels” – the practice of one person voting several times in different polling stations, which is illegal. This was confirmed by Kakha Gogolashvili, director of the Center for European Studies at the Rondeli Foundation in Tbilisi: "We cannot know for sure who voted for 'Georgian Dream' and who did not. The elections were completely rigged. We do not even know how many people actually voted for them because they organized carousels where one person voted for 30. This is documented; this is what witnesses say." This method allowed the manipulators to artificially increase the number of votes for the ruling party, creating the illusion of mass support. Roman Udot, an analyst at the Electoral Graphics portal, drew attention to another suspicious pattern: in districts with an abnormally high turnout, 'Georgian Dream' received significantly more support than in places with lower turnouts. The strategies discussed above are commonly employed by authoritarian parties, ensuring that their preferred voters turn out en masse to counterbalance opposition support.
Before the elections, observers recorded numerous cases of civil servants being forced to vote for ‘Georgian Dream’ under threat of losing their jobs. In particular, education, law enforcement, and local government employees were put under immense pressure. In addition, there were reports of groups of people intimidating voters and opposition politicians near polling stations. In some cases, the authorities installed video cameras in 2,500 polling stations, which created an atmosphere of control and pressure on voters.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili strongly condemned the election process, warning that legitimizing the results would effectively grant Russia direct influence over Georgian governance and urging citizens to protest. This call to action resonated with ongoing public discontent, as thousands of Georgians had already been demonstrating since the suspension of EU accession negotiations in November 2024.
The first protests took place on October 28 outside the parliament building, where people gathered, demanding the annulment of the parliamentary election and lobbying for the pro-European direction. Georgian authorities responded with forceful dispersal: special forces used water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets. To many Ukrainians, the brutality of the actions of law enforcement officers was reminiscent of the Euromaidan events of 2014, when security forces violently suppressed demonstrators opposing Ukrainian President Yanukovych’s rejection of an EU association agreement, ultimately sparking his ousting and Ukraine’s broader fight for democracy and sovereignty.
In Georgia, according to official police data, more than 400 people were arrested during the demonstrations. The Office of the People’s Defender of Georgia reported that among the 327 detainees visited, 225 reported inhumane treatment, and 157 had visible injuries. The police have responded even more harshly – with tear gas canisters that cover the streets of Tbilisi. To this day, the heavy smell of gas lingers in the air, noticeable even several blocks from the scene of the clashes, while the brutality of the security forces continues to escalate—people are being harmed, poisoned with pepper spray, and opposition leaders and journalists are being detained, with their phones forcibly knocked from their hands. The authorities continue to persecute dissenters – on the 67th day of protests, three dozen more people were detained, including opposition politician Nika Melia and the former mayor of Tbilisi, Giorgi Ugulava.
Georgian newly elected leaders recently adopted harsh legislation to suppress peaceful dissent, indicating a serious escalation of repression against human rights. The laws (increased penalties for offenses related to protests, criminalization of blocking roads, expanded police powers, restrictions on assembling near government buildings, ban on face coverings during protests), hastily adopted in December to January of 2024, effectively criminalize even symbolic acts of protest, such as placing stickers on public objects. To many, this marks a clear attempt to silence opposition activists, journalists, and human rights defenders. The adopted legislative amendments significantly restrict freedom of speech and the right to peaceful assembly. The amendments provide for an increase in fines for administrative offenses and an extension of administrative detention from 15 to 60 days. Public incitement to violence has also become criminalized, punishable by up to three years in prison. In addition, resisting or threatening a police officer is now considered a serious crime, punishable by five to ten years in prison. The Georgian government is also expanding the law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence", which is used as a tool to pressure independent public organizations and the media. The adoption of a new media law strengthens state control over journalism, giving legal bodies the right to determine what constitutes “objective” information, which could result in censorship and persecution of independent media. It also eliminates existing legal guarantees for civil society participation in decision-making processes, and the system of financing public organizations is transferred under full state control, making them dependent on government decisions.
The future of Georgia depends on the government’s ability to address the demands of civil society and the international pressure that is intensifying in response to the violation of democratic norms. If repression and fraud continue, Georgia risks losing the trust of Western partners and slowing down the process of integration into the European Union. At the same time, ongoing public resistance gives hope that democratic transformation in Georgia remains not only possible but also inevitable.
Today, it is important for us not to stand aside: the international community must increase pressure on the Georgian government, demanding fair elections and respect for human rights. Civil society—both in Georgia and abroad—must mobilize and support independent media and human rights organizations so as not to let democracy fade away. Georgia’s democratic future depends on the activism of everyone ready to speak out against injustice—on the streets, in the media, or in international institutions.
Saqartvelo Gaumarjos!
Olha Burdeina is a sophomore at Brown University concentrating in International and Public Affairs. She is a staff writer for the Brown Undergraduate Law Review and can be contacted at olha_burdeina@brown.edu.
Cat Gao is a sophomore at Brown University studying Philosophy and Literary Arts. She can be reached at cat_gao@brown.edu