Policy Dialogue – Local Agendas for the Upcoming Elections: Party Responses

03/10/2024

With the upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia on 26 October 2024, the country's foreign policy orientation and its future EU integration in the centre of the political debate. However, in the midst of geopolitical challenges, it is important to also consider voters' expectations and develop local electoral programmes that respond to the needs of the local electorate. Although the EU integration process has a strong geopolitical dimension, it also emphasises local reform and development. This requires a clear vision for a reform-oriented political agenda. Domestic challenges include high unemployment rates, reform of the social security and pension system, as well as future relations with the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. These issues should receive greater attention in the election campaigns.

While the election campaigns of the opposition parties are very present in the capital Tbilisi, there is a lack of direct contact between politicians and the local population in the regions. Reasons for this include a lack of resources, particularly on the part of the opposition coalitions, but also attempts at intimidation by local groups close to the government. Many people refuse to have contact with opposition representatives for fear of repression. Digital election campaigns are also problematic in rural regions, as there is often a lack of sufficient and stable internet connections. At the same time, disinformation campaigns and false narratives that defame the Georgian opposition as a ‘global war party’, for example, hamper their public image.

On 3 October 2024, the second GEO4EU Policy Dialogue took place in Tbilisi under the title ‘Local Agendas for the Upcoming Elections: Party Responses’, which built on the results of the first Policy Dialogue in Kutaisi. The event enabled a direct exchange between representatives of the largest opposition coalitions and representatives of civil society, in particular local activists from Kutaisi. The panel consisted of Gia Japaridze (Unity – National Movement), Saba Buadze (Strong Georgia), Giorgi Butikashvili (Coalition for Change), and Dimitri Tskitishvili (For Georgia). Nino Samkharadze, a Policy Analyst at the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP), presented the Policy Memo titled “All Politics is Local”. Additionally, Tamuna Nikoleishvili, a social entrepreneur and founder of Regional Educational Centers from Kutaisi, shared local needs and perspectives. Moderator was Prof. Davit Aprasidze, Ilia State University.