Anyone Still Voting Has Already Lost

An Op-Ed on the Political Farce of Georgia’s 2025 Local Elections

It’s election year in Georgia. The regime is ready. The opposition is dismantled. And the people? Once again, they are invited to witness their own exclusion — democratically, of course, complete with seal, stamp, and surveillance camera.

The 2025 local elections are taking place in a country where the illusion of participation is carefully maintained, while any real influence has been systematically eliminated. Anyone who still believes their vote can make a difference is mistaken. Worse: they’re helping to legitimize the authoritarian status quo.

The New “Purge”: Disagree and You’re Gone

It starts with one sentence:“According to Article 82, Paragraph 2 of the Law on Public Service, your employment will end within one month.”No explanation. No reason. No defense.Hundreds of civil servants and public employees in Georgia have been dismissed in recent months — simply for signing a pro-European statement or sharing a critical Facebook post.

What was once considered institutional strength — expertise, experience, international cooperation — is now labeled a security risk. Those who know too much, think too much, or speak too much are removed. Not because of performance, but because of their stance.

State institutions like the National Probation Agency, Tbilisi City Hall, the Tax Authority, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Data Protection Service have all been “cleansed” of critical professionals. Even staff who contributed to the EU membership questionnaire were dismissed — apparently because Europe no longer fits the plan.

But it’s not just a loss of personnel. It’s a loss of memory. Institutional knowledge, expertise, integrity — all gone. The price is high. And it’s paid by citizens who will soon be served by an administration loyal not to the constitution, but to the ruling party.

Dependence Is Silence: The Economic Trap

Political control doesn’t end with the public sector. It reaches deep into society. Around 24% of employed Georgians are paid by the state. Nearly 20% of the population receives social assistance. Around 40,000 benefit recipients are tied to so-called employment programs that offer 300 lari per month — in exchange for loyalty.

Social policy has become an election strategy. Comply and get more. Criticize and get cut off. These programs are marketed as reintegration efforts — in reality, they reinforce a system of economic coercion. The perfect voter base: dependent, intimidated, and structurally silenced.

The Farce of Secret Ballots

The secret ballot was already compromised in 2024. Ballot papers were printed in such a way that markings became visible under light — especially in the section where the ruling “Georgian Dream” party appeared. International observers documented the scandal, and the Election Commission tried to cover it up with “preventive measures.” But the message had already landed: voting against the government may be seen.

An electoral system that has lost the public’s trust doesn’t need reform — it needs to be disqualified. Anyone participating in such an election is playing a rigged game.

Banning Parties by Fast Track

As if that weren’t enough, in May 2025 a new law was passed allowing the Constitutional Court to ban political parties within 14 days. The criteria are vague, elastic, and ripe for abuse: if a party’s members were once part of a banned group, or if its program seems “unconstitutional,” it can be wiped out — even mid-campaign.

This creates the appearance of democracy, but enforces a monopoly. A pluralist system is replaced by a filter that removes anything remotely threatening to power. The ballot box remains — but it is empty.

The Forgotten War: Georgia’s Drug Policy

In this authoritarian arrangement, drug policy plays a silent yet central role. Nearly 50,000 people in Georgia are registered as injecting drug users — among the highest rates in the world. The government doesn’t respond with prevention or treatment, but with repression.

Georgia has some of the harshest drug laws in Europe. Even minor possession can result in years of prison. The courts are merciless. The police are brutal. And the system works: drug users are stigmatized, intimidated, and entirely dependent on state mercy.

Meanwhile, the drug scene has moved on. New synthetic substances are cheaper, stronger, and easier to buy — mostly online and anonymously. The police can’t handle this. So instead, they focus on users rather than dealers. Drug policy isn’t about fighting addiction — it’s about controlling society’s margins.

Because those who are dependent have no voice. Those who fear prosecution don’t take to the streets. And once someone is convicted, they’re done: no job, no vote, no future. Exactly how the regime wants it.

Destruction as a Strategy

What’s happening here isn’t negligence. It’s deliberate. A state that empties out its civil service, turns welfare into a reward system, criminalizes addicts, and manipulates elections isn’t trying to govern — it’s trying to rule.

The EU accession path — once a shared national goal — has been dropped like an old campaign promise. Critics are labeled as foreign agents. Protest is framed as a security threat. Parties are treated as dangers. In the regime’s language, there are only “friends” and “enemies.”

Anyone who still believes their vote can change this has not grasped the nature of the system.

Boycott as the Last Democratic Act

In a functioning democracy, boycotting an election is a sin. In an authoritarian simulation, it is a duty. Participating in this election means more than choosing a mayor. It means giving consent for this system to continue.

The boycott of Georgia’s 2025 local elections is not retreat — it is resistance. A sign that we refuse to play a rigged game. That we reject throwing our voices into a system that counts only loyalty.

It’s time we stop settling for appearances. Stop mistaking elections for democracy. Stop pretending that political participation is possible when political opinion is criminalized.

Georgia is not facing a choice. Georgia is facing the question of whether it still takes itself seriously.