Georgian Dream must not be allowed to hold 2028 elections, says Coalition for Change’s Giorgi Butikashvili

“Ruling party Georgian Dream must be prevented from holding the 2028 parliamentary elections through a mass public boycott, with street protests and civil resistance remaining the only viable path forward,” Coalition for Change member Giorgi Butikashvili declared during an interview on Palitranews today.

Butikashvili argued that outlawing opposition groups would backfire on Georgian Dream, exposing the regime’s willingness to trample fundamental rights to cling to power.

“If they ban political parties, it will demand even greater individual effort from leaders and members alike. While a ban would restrict our access to broadcasting and public communication, party members will simply return to the fundamentals of politics: direct engagement with the people. Authoritarian bans often lay bare the truth and expose the falsehoods Georgian Dream forces us to live under. These measures reveal their true face and show just how far they will go to hold power and trample rights. That reality will only serve to wake the public up,” Butikashvili noted.

He added that the move dispels the long-standing narrative that the ruling party was acting out of political pragmatism.

“Georgian Dream must not be allowed to hold the 2028 elections. Their goal is to clear the board and manipulate the Central Election Commission, so the vote becomes a sham contest between Putin-aligned figures. By outlawing pro-Western parties, they leave the field open solely to pro-Russian forces, ruling party proxies, or covert conservatives acting as puppets for Bidzina Ivanishvili. When the democratic process is dismantled in this way, such elections cannot be allowed to take place. We must make the public understand that any vote staged by Georgian Dream cannot be recognised as a legitimate election,” Butikashvili stated.