Tbilisi (GBC) - Members of the European Parliament issued a joint statement on October 7, expressing concern over the conduct of Georgia’s October 4, 2025 local elections.

According to the statement, the elections “were held in a restricted environment, in the context of months of repression against civil society, independent media, and the political opposition by self-appointed officials of the Georgian Dream party.”

“Georgia's local elections of 4 October 2025 took place in a restrictive environment, in the context of a months-long crackdown on civil society, independent media and political opposition by the self-appointed Georgian Dream authorities. We deplore the fact that the authorities effectively prevented the presence of credible election observers, with a late invitation to the OSCE/ODIHR and restrictions on civil society hampering observation by domestic organisations.

We are concerned by the violent clashes in the streets following the elections and call for calm from all. We urge the Georgian Dream to stop its assault on democracy and respect the fundamental rights of freedom of assembly and expression, stop the arrests of protesters and release those arbitrarily detained. We also deplore the increasingly aggressive campaign against the EU, including personal attacks on the EU and Member State ambassadors, European politicians and individual Member States.

We strongly denounce the Georgian Dream's declared intention to ban opposition parties, which would mark a new culmination of Georgia's slide towards an authoritarian regime. We reiterate our call on the EU and its Member States to take immediate action and to introduce personal sanctions against key Georgian Dream political leaders and officials responsible for democratic backsliding, electoral fraud, human rights violations and the persecution of political opponents and activists, in particular Bidzina Ivanishvili and Irakli Kobakhidze”, - the statement reads.

In response to recent developments in Georgia, several senior Members of the European Parliament have issued a joint statement expressing their position on the situation.

The statement was authored and signed by:

  • David McAllister, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET)
  • Mounir Satouri, Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights
  • Sergey Lagodinsky, Chair of the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly
  • Nils Ušakovs, Chair of the Delegation for Relations with the South Caucasus
  • Rasa Juknevičienė, AFET Standing Rapporteur on Georgia