Georgian President Kavelashvili offers pardons to jailed opposition if they take part in elections
Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili has said he was ready to pardon opposition leaders who were arrested in recent weeks, if they express a desire to participate in the October 2025 municipal elections.
Kavelashvili made this statement against the backdrop of a declared boycott of the elections by numerous opposition parties.
According to him, ‘It is important that all political parties registered in accordance with Georgian legislation and expressing a desire to participate in the elections take part fully in these elections’.
‘I am offering all relevant convicted politicians to submit a request for a pardon, and in the same request confirm their desire to participate in the elections’, Kavelashvili added, noting that ‘in the event of such a request, I will immediately issue a decree pardoning the relevant convicts’.
Kavelashvili’s statement was preceded by the recent announcement of months-long prison sentences for eight opposition figures, including political leaders, after they boycotted Georgian Dream’s parliamentary commission.
Georgian Dream officials welcomed the president’s statement, with ruling party MP Levan Machavariani saying that no one should be left with ‘a field for speculation’ about Georgian Dream arresting opposition figures because of their ‘high ratings, as some talk about abroad, in the West’.
In contrast, the opposition dismissed Kavelashvili’s offer, with the Coalition for Change saying that the statement reflected Georgian Dream’s attempt to ‘bargain with the freedom of political prisoners’.
‘It has become clear that the regime sees participation by pro-Western forces in the so-called local elections as the only way to secure its own legitimacy’, added the coalition. Most of the group’s leaders are currently imprisoned.
United National Movement (UNM) leader Tina Bokuchava responded similarly, stating that ‘Ivanishvili’s regime desperately needs legitimacy’.
‘This [offer] once again confirms that our joint efforts, both internationally and within the country, which were aimed at non-recognition of the regime, were very correctly focused’, she told TV Pirveli.
For boycott supporters, taking part in the elections would amount to undermining the policy of refusing to recognise Georgian Dream’s legitimacy following the disputed 2024 parliamentary elections, which were marred by major violations. As part of that policy of non-recognition, all major opposition parties have been boycotting parliament.
However, there is only partial consensus within the opposition regarding the boycott. On Saturday, Lelo officially confirmed its decision to participate in the local elections, seeing them as another battleground against Georgian Dream. Former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s party, For Georgia, also declared it was preparing for the elections.
Among the imprisoned opposition leaders are Lelo’s founders, Badri Japaridze and Mamuka Khazaradze. However, the party ruled out accepting Kavelashvili’s offer regarding a pardon.
According to a survey conducted by Social Studies and Analysis (ISSA) in June, only 20% of pro-Western opposition voters support the unconditional participation of opposition parties in the 2025 local elections. Of voters in the same category, 43% said the opposition should boycott the elections, while 26% said opposition parties should participate in the local vote only if early parliamentary elections are held beforehand or simultaneously.
In contrast, an absolute majority of Georgian Dream and its satellite party People’s Power voters — 70% — support unconditional opposition participation in the municipal elections.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
