Ruling Georgian Dream and opposition Strong Georgia/Lelo were announced as the only political parties to run in the October 3 by-elections to fill vacant seats in municipal councils (Sakrebulos) in four municipalities.
According to Georgia’s Central Election Commission (CEC), the two, running under ballot numbers 41 and 9, respectively, were the only forces that applied to participate in the vote. They have until September 3 to submit their candidates. Other opposition forces appear to be boycotting the upcoming vote, as most of them did in the 2025 local elections.
The by-elections will be held in Vani, Tsalka, Dmanisi and Akhmeta municipalities, where voters will elect four majoritarian members of local councils (Sakrebulos) after the mandates of four members were terminated before their terms expired. All four reportedly were Georgian Dream members.
According to media reports, Ramaz Khinikadze of Tsalka and Ilia Sarsevanidze of Dmanisi died in April and June, respectively, while Adam Mozaidze of Akhmeta was arrested in March on bribery charges. The reason for the early termination of the mandate of Beka Lachkepiani of Vani has not been reported.
Seven polling stations will operate across the four municipalities, with electronic voter verification and vote-counting equipment planned to be deployed at four of them, while voters at the remaining three stations will cast ballots using the traditional system.
The participation of Lelo as the only opposition force follows the wider boycott by other leading opposition groups. Of the four opposition forces that passed the mandatory 5-percent threshold in the October 2024 parliamentary elections, only Lelo and ex-Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s For Georgia participated in the October 2025 local elections, while Coalition for Change and the United National Movement (UNM), alongside other smaller and newer opposition groups, boycotted the vote.
In the 2025 municipal elections, Georgian Dream candidates were elected mayors in all 64 municipalities nationwide.
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