Main points about the ban on opposition parties in Georgia

The Constitutional Court of Georgia is considering a lawsuit to ban five opposition parties that received more than a third of the votes in the 2024 elections. The authorities explain the lawsuit as necessary for protecting the constitutional order, while opposition parties and several international organizations link the process to the restriction of political competition.

Lawsuit to ban five parties

On October 21, 2026, in Batumi, the Constitutional Court of Georgia began substantive consideration of the lawsuit filed by 88 members of parliament from the ruling party "Georgian Dream" to declare the activities of five opposition parties unconstitutional. The plaintiffs demand to ban the parties and annul their registration. A decision on the case must be made no later than June 24, 2027 ¹.

The defendants in case No. 1979 are the parties "Unity – National Movement", "Coalition for Change", "Strong Georgia – Lelo", "Federalists", and "Gakharia for Georgia" ². Four of them participated in the 2024 parliamentary elections and received a total of 37.79% of the votes from those who voted. If the lawsuit is satisfied, the parties may lose their registration and the right to further political activity ³.

The list of parties whose ban is being sought through the Constitutional Court has expanded gradually. The first lawsuit No. 1912 was registered on October 31, 2025, and concerned three parties: "Unity – National Movement", "Coalition for Change", and "Strong Georgia – Lelo". The second lawsuit No. 1958 from April 21, 2026, also included the party "Federalists", but the proceedings were later terminated. The third lawsuit No. 1979 was registered on September 24, 2026, and included the party "Gakharia for Georgia" ⁴.

According to Interpressnews, at the current stage, the authorities do not demand the ban of the parties "Droa", "Strategy Agmashenebeli", "European Georgia", "Freedom Square", and "Girchi" of Zurab Japaridze, although representatives of "Georgian Dream" still associate part of the opposition with the concept of "collective National Movement" ⁵.

Amendments to legislation in 2025

The legal basis for the process was created by amendments to the legislation adopted by parliament in 2025.

On May 13, 2025, parliament adopted amendments to the organic law "On Political Associations of Citizens" and "On the Constitutional Court" ⁶. The updated version of Article 36 states:

"The Constitutional Court of Georgia may ban a party whose goal is to overthrow or violently change the constitutional order of Georgia, encroach on the independence of the country, violate its territorial integrity, or which engages in the propaganda of war or violence, incites national, regional, religious, or social hatred, creates or has created an armed formation" ⁷.

The amendments also allowed the Constitutional Court to ban parties that are not formally successors of a banned organization but whose goals or activities "essentially repeat" the activities of a previously banned party. "With the adoption of these amendments, the Constitutional Court will have the opportunity to exercise effective constitutional control over political parties. Individuals wishing to continue unconstitutional activities will be prohibited by court decision from acting through new fictitious parties," the project presented by "Georgian Dream" stated ⁸. When assessing similarity, the personal composition of the party and its electoral lists may be taken into account. ⁹.

On October 16, 2025, parliament adopted another package of amendments to the laws "On the Constitutional Court", "On Political Associations of Citizens", the Electoral Code, and the Criminal Code ¹⁰. These changes extended the consequences of a party ban to individuals recognized as associated with it. Such individuals may face restrictions on creating new parties, participating in political associations, holding party positions, running for elections, and retaining elected mandates. ¹¹.

Arguments of "Georgian Dream"

"Georgian Dream" justifies its demands with the provisions of Article 23 of the Constitution of Georgia. According to the third part of the article: "The creation and activities of a political party are prohibited if its goal is to overthrow or violently change the constitutional order of Georgia, encroach on the independence of the country, violate its territorial integrity, propagate war or violence, incite national, ethnic, religious, or social hatred." ¹².

The fourth part of the article provides that the decision to ban a party may be made by the Constitutional Court.

The lawsuit claims that opposition parties systematically questioned the legitimacy of the current authorities, called on foreign partners to pressure the Georgian leadership, and effectively continued the political line of the former "United National Movement". To justify the lawsuit, the authors refer to materials from a parliamentary investigative commission led by Tea Tsulukiani, which investigated alleged violations during the rule of Mikheil Saakashvili from 2004 to 2012 ¹³.

The executive secretary of "Georgian Dream", Mamuka Mdinaradze, stated on March 27, 2025: "Declaring the collective 'United National Movement' unconstitutional was one of our electoral promises" ¹⁴.

On April 14, 2025, he again confirmed the intention to appeal to the Constitutional Court after the local elections: "We will prepare a very convincing and fact-based constitutional case that should serve as the basis for the Constitutional Court to ban the collective United National Movement" ¹⁵.

From electoral promises to legal proceedings

The idea of banning the opposition was voiced by representatives of "Georgian Dream" even before the parliamentary elections of 2024.

On April 29, 2024, the founder and honorary chairman of the party Bidzina Ivanishvili stated that after the elections, the authorities would be able to deliver a "harsh political and legal verdict" to the opposition. According to him, after the elections, there would be an opportunity to assess the actions of the "collective National Movement", which he accused of crimes against the state and the people. ¹⁶.

The promise to ban the "collective National Movement" became one of the key themes of the "Georgian Dream" election campaign. In August 2024, the authorities stated the need for a constitutional majority to implement these plans ¹⁷.

According to official data from the Central Election Commission, in the parliamentary elections on October 26, 2024, "Georgian Dream" received 53.93% of the votes. Four opposition coalitions that passed the electoral threshold reported violations and refused to recognize the election results.

The political crisis escalated after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's statement on November 28, 2024, that until the end of 2028, the authorities would not raise the issue of opening negotiations for the country's accession to the European Union. After the statement, mass protests have been held daily in the country. The European Parliament subsequently refused to recognize the results of the parliamentary elections and called for sanctions against representatives of the Georgian leadership. In 2025, "Georgian Dream" moved from political statements to legislative changes and then to legal proceedings.

Opposition opinion and international reaction

Opposition parties reject the accusations of unconstitutional activities and consider the lawsuit politically motivated. In their opinion, the authorities are using legislation to limit political competition and eliminate opponents before future elections. Representatives of the parties criticized both the composition of the defendants and the timing of the hearings.

Representative of the coalition "Strong Georgia – Lelo", Irakli Kupradze, reported after the appointment of the hearings: "I received a call from the Constitutional Court; the hearings on the ban of the parties were hastily scheduled for October 21, 22, and 23" ¹⁸.

The Association of Young Lawyers of Georgia criticized the legislative changes, warning of the risk of limiting political rights without an individual assessment of the responsibility of specific individuals. ¹⁹.

On October 13, 2026, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe criticized the amendments adopted in Georgia that allow the consequences of a party ban to extend to associated individuals ²⁰. In its conclusion, the measures were described as "far-reaching and serious restrictions" on political rights, which can only be justified under "very limited circumstances". The Commission pointed out the uncertainty of the concept of individuals "associated" with a banned party, the lack of sufficient guarantees for individual assessment of responsibility, and concluded that the legal restrictions are "disproportionate and unreasonable", which, according to the Commission, may negatively affect political pluralism and does not meet international standards of democracy ²¹.

On October 8, 2026, the European Parliament, in a special resolution, demanded the immediate withdrawal of the lawsuit to ban the opposition, emphasizing that "a functioning political opposition is an integral pillar of democracy", and the elimination of political competitors through the courts is incompatible with democratic principles ²². On October 20, 2026, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, urged the Georgian authorities to "support political pluralism and maintain space for political opposition", reminding the country of its obligations to ensure freedom of association and political competition ²³.

Notes

1. In Georgia, the holding of party meetings has been banned: the court will begin hearings on the government's case against the opposition on October 21 // JAMnews, 20.10.2026.
2. https://www.constcourt.ge/ka/judicial-acts?legal=20319
3. Georgia without opposition? How the ruling party came to a constitutional lawsuit to ban opponents // JAMnews, 05.10.2026.
4. https://www.constcourt.ge/en/judicial-acts?legal=20319
5. Tomorrow hearings will begin on the petition to declare five opposition parties unconstitutional. At this stage, "Georgian Dream" does not seek to ban the parties "Droa", "Strategy Agmashenebeli", "European Georgia", "Freedom Square", and "Girchi" of Zurab Japaridze // Interpressnews, 20.10.2026.
6. Parliament of "Georgian Dream" approved the law banning political parties // JAMnews, 13.05.2025.
7. Legislative Bulletin of Georgia //www.matsne.gov.ge/ru/document/view/28324?publication=51
8. Parliament of "Georgian Dream" approved the law banning political parties // JAMnews, 13.05.2025.
9. Parliament approved amendments to the laws on political unions and the Constitutional Court in the final reading //parliament.ge, 13.05.2025.
10. Parliament of the GD party adopted a law extending the ban on holding party meetings to individuals // Civil.ge, 16.10.2025.
11. The Venice Commission criticized the amendments to the Georgian constitution of 2025, extending the consequences of party bans to associated individuals // Civil.ge, 14.10.2026.
12. https://www.constcourt.ge/en/court/legislation/constitution-text
13. The Constitutional Court is considering the case on the ban of the opposition // Civil.ge, 21.10.2026.
14. Mamuka Mdinaradze: The conclusion of the Investigative Commission gives us strong grounds to appeal to the Constitutional Court to declare the United National Movement and its satellites unconstitutional // 1TV.ge, 27.03.2025.
15. The GD party will appeal to the Constitutional Court to ban opposition parties after the local elections // Civil.ge, 14.04.2025.
16. Bidzina Ivanishvili: We still have to fight for freedom and sovereignty to fulfill Ilya Chavchavadze's instruction that "we must accept ourselves" // Interpressnews, 29.04.2024.
17. Georgia without opposition? How the ruling party came to a constitutional lawsuit to ban opponents // JAMnews, 05.10.2026.
18. According to opposition figures, hearings on the constitutional lawsuit to ban opposition parties are scheduled for October 21, 22, and 23 // Interpressnews, 13.10.2026.
19. Georgian Association of Young Lawyers: Banning parties is not protecting democracy, but destroying political competition // Sovanews.tv, 16.10.2026.
20. https://www.coe.int/en/web/venice-commission/-/opinion-1272
21. The Venice Commission criticized the amendments to the Georgian constitution of 2025, extending the consequences of party bans to associated individuals // Civil.ge, 14.10.2026.
22. European Parliament resolution of 8.10.2026 //data.europarl.europa.eu/distribution/doc/TA-10-2026-0336_en.pdf
23. Statement by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on 20.10.2026 //www.coe.int/en/web/portal/-/georgia-secretary-general-alain-berset-calls-for-safeguarding-democracy-and-political-pluralism-ahead-of-opposition-ban-hearings