The “Opposition Alliance” has outlined six demands for holding free and fair elections in Georgia. Opponents of the government believe that meeting these requirements will restore public trust in the electoral process, ultimately leading to a change of power in the country.
The Alliance called on citizens to join a protest on May 26 on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, coinciding with Georgia’s Independence Day.
“On May 26, we are waiting for you on Rustaveli — there must be many of us, all of Georgia must come out,” the Alliance stated.
Representatives of the opposition forces stated that before discussing free and fair elections, it is necessary to release political prisoners, drop politically motivated criminal cases, and repeal repressive laws. They noted that these laws have effectively destroyed or seriously endangered democratic institutions, opposition media, political parties, civil organizations, and other vital instruments of democracy.
The 6 key conditions for holding free and fair elections include:
- Changing the procedure for forming the Central Election Commission (CEC) and shifting it entirely to a parity-based principle. The commission should be composed of one representative from each party that cleared the threshold in the 2020 and 2024 elections, with subsequent commissions formed by a new composition following the same principle. The Alliance emphasized that they do not consider the 2024 elections legitimate, but are using the results of the parties that cleared the threshold as a conditional basis;
- Restoring full voting rights to emigrants and simplifying their participation in elections;
- Strengthening voter verification procedures, including the implementation of facial recognition systems. Furthermore, the opposition proposes inviting a reputable international auditing firm to verify both the technical equipment and the entire voting process;
- Making voter lists public and ensuring the possibility of public verification of citizen participation in the vote;
- Establishing special judicial panels to handle electoral disputes, with their composition determined by mutual agreement of the parties;
- Repealing all legislative changes adopted by “Gruzinskaya Mechta” (Georgian Dream, the ruling party) after the parliamentary elections on October 26, 2024.
The opposition stresses that only by fulfilling these six principles and demands can there be talk of even minimal standards of electoral legitimacy that would not be called into question.
The statement also notes that, in the opposition’s view, the 2024 elections were marred by gross violations and large-scale manipulations that affected the final outcome and led to a political crisis.
“It is precisely to end this political crisis and conduct elections in a normal, fair, and free environment that these six conditions must be met.
This will restore voter confidence in the electoral process and ultimately lead to the replacement of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s government,” the “Opposition Alliance” statement reads.