Lelo — Strong Georgia and For Georgia, the only major opposition groups set to contest Georgia’s upcoming municipal elections, have named Lelo’s Secretary General Irakli Kupradze as their joint candidate for Tbilisi mayor.
The parties unveiled Kupradze’s candidacy on Monday evening at an event in Tbilisi’s central Rike Park.
The announcement followed weeks of speculation over who would represent the two opposition groups, which agreed to cooperate in the controversial vote boycotted by numerous other opposition parties.
‘This is a difficult responsibility entrusted to me jointly by, in my view, the two main political parties’, Kupradze said, as the parties’ electoral slogans ‘We will carry this fight to the end!’ and ‘Let’s reclaim our cities and villages together!’ flashed on the screen behind him.
‘This was a historic agreement [between Lelo and For Georgia], in a political landscape that for decades had always been driven towards division’, the candidate added.
Kupradze first emerged in the public sphere as a student activist within left-wing movements, before joining Lelo in 2019 — the party launched by Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, co-founders of one of Georgia’s largest TBC Bank.
His move at the time prompted questions among his leftist peers, to which he responded that he had been welcomed into the party ‘as a leftist’, portraying Lelo as an ideologically diverse political group.
‘At some point, as a civic activist, you realise that if you want to bring real change, you have to take on this responsibility; you have to say that you can do it; and I want to say together with you: we can do it!’ Kupradze told the audience at Monday’s event.
‘We are capable of reclaiming Tbilisi, of reclaiming our villages, towns, and the people whom the Russian regime has cast aside!’ he concluded.
The event also introduced the deputy mayoral candidates: Aleko Elisashvili, a member of Lelo — Strong Georgia, and Tata Khvedeliani, affiliated with For Georgia.
The municipal elections across Georgia are scheduled for 4 October 2025.
Kupradze will face the incumbent mayor and Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Kakha Kaladze, who is running for a third term as Tbilisi’s mayor.
Election boycott
Eight other opposition parties have announced a boycott of the municipal elections. The list included parties from two largest opposition groups — Coalition for Change and Unity — United National Movement (UNM).
For them, taking part in the elections would undermine the policy of refusing to recognise Georgian Dream’s legitimacy following the disputed 2024 parliamentary elections, which were marred by major violations.
Georgian Dream was declared the winner of the contested elections, while Coalition for Change and the UNM coalition took second and third places respectively. Strong Georgia and For Georgia claimed the third and fourth positions.
The elections were followed by an opposition boycott of parliament as well as anti-government protests, boosted by Georgian Dream’s suspension of the country's EU membership bid one month later. The protests are still ongoing, with demonstrators blocking Tbilisi’s main avenue every night.
Alongside the protests, the government’s crackdown on dissent has intensified, with dozens of demonstrators and many opposition leaders — including both founders of Lelo — in jail, which critics widely view as politically motivated punishment.
Parties in favour of participating in the municipal elections have argued that opposition involvement in the process will strengthen the anti-government momentum and prevent Georgian Dream from gaining full control over all state institutions.
In mid-July, Lelo and For Georgia signed a deal to support neutral candidates from civil society in mayoral races and for majoritarian council seats. If finding such candidates proves impossible, they will pool their resources and present joint party candidates to the electorate.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
