Georgia’s fifth President, Salome Zurabishvili, has strongly criticized both participation in and boycott of the upcoming local elections, calling the entire process a manufactured illusion. In a pointed statement, she declared:
“Neither a campaign for participating in the elections nor a boycott suits us; if anyone in this country believes that local elections can be held, that is a great myth—I am certain they will not take place.”
Zurabishvili emphasized that Georgia’s political landscape is deeply fractured, with resources being wasted on internal division instead of unifying protest. “We are divided on both sides,” she said, lamenting the energy spent on what she described as a meaningless boycott campaign. “These efforts should be directed toward protests.”
She argued that the ruling party, Georgian Dream, has strategically used the topic of elections to sow discord among the opposition and weaken resistance. “The opposition has been split, and the protests have been weakened. Our only strength is unity,” she warned.
Zurabishvili portrayed the political scene as a “theater of the absurd,” where both sides are caught in a scripted drama. She believes the elections are being used as a tool of manipulation and repression under the guise of democracy.
“There are criminal, mafia-like rules of deals and intimidation in the country. No citizen feels protected anymore,” she said, adding that the environment of fear, coercion, and financial pressure renders genuine elections impossible.
Zurabishvili noted that she is skeptical of the opposition parties that advocate for electoral participation, stating that they lack a clear strategy or real ambition to challenge the regime. According to her, such participation will not consolidate the parties or produce meaningful change.
At the same time, she dismissed boycott campaigns as equally ineffective, arguing that authoritarian regimes often manipulate even low-turnout scenarios to their advantage. “There is no example of a boycott being declared as some kind of victory,” she noted. “In today’s conditions, just as elections would be rigged if someone participates, a boycott can be rigged even more easily.”
In her view, the only path forward is through national unity—not campaigns or political maneuvering—but a collective stand that rejects both illusion and division.
By Team GT
