2024–2025 Georgian political crisis

2024–2025 Georgian political crisis
2024–2025 Georgian political crisis
	Salome Zourabichvili (left) and Mikheil Kavelashvili (right)
Date	26 October 2024 – present (7 months, 3 weeks and 4 days)
Location	Georgia
Caused by	Georgian Dream seeking 3/4 parliamentary majority for constitutionally banning the opposition
Goals	Opposition: New elections; release of political prisoners; Georgian Dream: Monopoly of power ;
Methods	Georgian Dream: Electoral fraud (alleged), police violence, dismissals of civil servants; Opposition: Demonstrations (2024–2025 Georgian protests), sit-ins, student protest, civil disobedience, online activism, traffic obstruction, use of pyrotechnics, resignations of civil servants; Foreign diplomatic pressure and international sanctions:;
Status	The decision of the Constitutional Court of Georgia of 29 November 2024 to dismiss the claim of the President and 30 opposition MPs on the unconstitutionality of the electoral law; Disputed validity of the 26 October 2024 parliamentary election; Presidential refusal to Convene/open parliament; Self-convening of parliament; Suspension of preparations for EU accession; Disputed validity of 14 December 2024 presidential election;
Parties
Opposition; Coalition for Change; Unity – National Movement; Strong Georgia; For Georgia; President of Georgia; (until 29 December 2024, disputed); ; Supported by: European Parliament	Kobakhidze government; Georgian Dream; People's Power; President of Georgia; (since 29 December 2024, disputed); ;
Lead figures
	Salome Zurabishvili; Nika Gvaramia; Nika Melia; Zurab Japaridze; Elene Khoshtaria; Tinatin Bokuchava; Mamuka Khazaradze; Giorgi Gakharia Bidzina Ivanishvili; Irakli Kobakhidze; Vakhtang Gomelauri; Mikheil Kavelashvili

Georgia is currently undergoing a political crisis due to the disputed legitimacy of the October 2024 Georgian parliamentary election, which was conducted with significant irregularities and described by observers as "fundamentally flawed". The crisis continued with the unconstitutional self-convening of Parliament and escalated with the decision of the ruling party to suspend preparations for EU accession negotiations, which was seen as contradicting Article 78 of the Georgian Constitution. The crisis entered another phase with the election of a new president by the Georgian Electoral Assembly and its 29 December 2024 inauguration of Mikheil Kavelashvili. Salome Zourabichvili stated on 29 December and during the following weeks that she remained the president of Georgia.

Protests against the ruling party have continued since the election, with hundreds of protesters arrested, beaten or tortured by the police and the ruling-party affiliated violent groups, who also attacked journalists.