Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on 26 October 2024. The elections were held under the rules adopted in 2017 through the constitutional amendments which shifted the electoral system towards a fully proportional representation with a 5% electoral threshold. The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party sought to win its fourth term in office. Its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili—an influential oligarch and former prime minister often regarded as the country's éminence grise following his official departure from politics in 2021—returned to politics several months before the polls to lead GD in the elections.

With the election being held during the Russo-Ukrainian war, "safeguarding peace" through a "pragmatic policy" with Russia was a major campaign message of the ruling Georgian Dream party. It also campaigned on socially conservative policies, particularly the recent "LGBT propaganda law" and strengthening of status of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the constitution; and outlawing those opposition parties which they accused of "dragging the country in the 2008 war with Russia" and "instituting a system of violence and torture" during their rule. It shifted to a Eurosceptic position, while not rejecting joining the European Union, promising to do it while "playing by Georgian rules". It also promised restoring the country's territorial integrity, with Ivanishvili making overtures to the Kremlin, and controversially calling for an apology for Georgia's role in the 2008 war.

During the pre-election period, the opposition parties emphasized what they viewed as GD's pro-Russian shift and its unwillingness to fulfill the criteria set by the European Commission for EU accession, campaigning for European integration. The election was preceded by the 2023–2024 Georgian protests over controversial legislation requiring organizations receiving foreign funding to register as "foreign agents", sparking accusations of authoritarianism. This law has strained relations with the West; the European Union and the United States initiated a variety of measures against the law, including U.S. visa designations and financial sanctions against dozens of Georgian officials and their families, the de facto freezing of Georgia's European Union membership candidate status, and the proposed U.S. Congress MEGOBARI Act.

Based on preliminary results published by Central Election Commission of Georgia, Georgian Dream declared victory in the election with more than 53% of the vote, while the four major opposition coalitions—which agreed not to cooperate with Georgian Dream in the parliament through their Georgian Charter—were recorded as having received 37.79% in total. Georgian Dream posted the highest results in rural areas, particularly in the Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Svaneti, Racha-Lechkhumi, Guria, and Adjara regions, but lost the capital Tbilisi and also Rustavi to the opposition, while only closely winning other major cities. In the capital, GD received 42% of the vote, while the four major opposition coalitions combined received 46%; the smaller libertarian Girchi party won 5.3%. Georgian Dream also dramatically lost to the opposition among the Georgian diaspora.

The four major opposition coalitions and President Salome Zourabichvili stated that the elections were carried out with vote-buying, ballot-box stuffing, intimidation and pressure on voters. They accused Georgian Dream of "stealing the election", with Zourabichvili refusing to recognize the official results, which she called illegitimate.BREAKING: President Zurabishvili Rejects Election Results, Civil.ge: 27 October 2024 The opposition announced that it was going to boycott the new parliament. Some election monitors characterized the conduct of the elections as "fundamentally flawed."IRI Releases Final Report on Georgia’s Parliamentary Elections, International Republican Institute, 23 December 2024 In the aftermath of the election, the V-Dem Institute downgraded the quality of democracy in Georgia from an "electoral democracy" to an "electoral autocracy". The disputed election led to the 2024-2026 Georgian political crisis.

Background Political context

By the time of the elections, Georgian Dream had been the ruling party in Georgia since defeating Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM) in the 2012 parliamentary election. Announcing its plans to pursue a policy of joining the European Union and NATO, Georgian Dream also professed a more conciliatory approach towards Russia compared to its anti-Russian opponents; however, the geopolitical strain of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict have made it more difficult to maintain a balancing act, amid statements from Ukrainian politicians that Georgia would have "greatly aided" Ukraine by opening a "second front" against Russia and Western efforts to isolate Russia with international sanctions.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Georgian government condemned Russian actions and provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, but did not join sanctions against Russia, which allowed an influx of Russian capital and highly skilled Russians dodging military mobilization. In turn, Russia did not approve the proposal of Georgia's breakaway de facto South Ossetian republic to hold a referendum on joining the Russian Federation, and despite otherwise hostile relations did not put Georgia on its unfriendly countries list.

On 25 February 2022, large protests took place in front of the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi, lasting for six consecutive days to show solidarity with Ukraine. The demonstration took on an anti-government tone, reflecting growing frustration with the Georgian authorities' allegedly inadequate response to Russian invasion. Elene Khoshtaria, leader of the opposition Droa party, addressed the crowd, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and his administration. She called for immediate and effective actions to support Ukraine, such as closing the sky to Russia, and urged Georgia to apply for EU membership.

Protesters were angered by alleged obstacles created for volunteers and the government's refusal to join international sanctions against Russia. On 28 February, Georgian authorities did not give landing permission to a Ukrainian charter sent to transport Georgian volunteers from Georgia to Ukraine. Georgian Dream's leader Mamuka Mdinaradze said that Georgia could not send volunteers to Ukraine because Georgia was in vulnerable position and it would risk a war with Russia. In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy decided to recall Ukraine's ambassador to Georgia. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili also announced that Georgia would not join international sanctions against Russia because it would harm the Georgian economy more than it would hurt Russia, fueling the rising anti-government sentiment in the protests. Garibashvili also noted that neither the West nor Ukraine imposed sanctions on Russia during or after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, and even continued "business as usual", including a Russian reset, while Georgia was being asked to sacrifice itself and "destroy its economy".

In June 2022, the European Union refused to approve Georgia's application to join the union, citing alleged media censorship and the government's refusal to join international sanctions against Russia. This led to mobilization by the opposition against the government. In turn, the sovereignist faction People's Power was created within the parliamentary majority in August 2022, and proposed legislation to regulate foreign influence by creating a special registry to monitor politically active foreign-funded organizations, many of which were Western-funded. While the government claimed that the bill was necessary for public disclosure and transparency, the opposition, aided by the statements of Western embassies and politicians, managed to mobilize protests to tackle the bill, likening it to Russian foreign agent law and saying that it would have jeopardized Euro-Atlantic integration, ultimately leading to the parliament withdrawing the bill.

On 8 March 2023, tens of thousands of people gathered in front of the Parliament, demanding a halt to further discussions on the law. Opposition leader Giorgi Vashadze issued an ultimatum, calling for the rejection of the bills and the release of those detained during the protests. Amid protests in Tbilisi, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement, cautioning against the violent change of power in Georgia, with some Russian politicians suggesting Russia might use military means in case of "instability on the Russian border". In September 2023, the State Security Service of Georgia claimed to have uncovered plans of the opposition and the Western-funded groups to stage a coup in Georgia with the support of Ukraine-based Georgian oppositionist politicians. This in turn led to the pro-Russian Georgian opposition Conservative Movement party and the TV channel Alt-Info starting to mobilize an "Anti-Maidan movement" to counter the alleged coup.

However, in December 2023, the European Union decided to grant Georgia candidate status following the release from prison of opposition journalist Nika Gvaramia, who had been arrested on charges of abuse of power and embezzlement, and the parliament's decision to turn down impeachment proceedings against pro-opposition president Salome Zourabichvili.European Council conclusions on Ukraine, enlargement and reforms, European Council, 14 December 2023 In late December 2023, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili summarized the year by saying that the government had managed to "preserve the peace" amid the threat of destabilization caused by "radical groups and hostile forces operating within the country", and also to secure EU candidate status for Georgia.

In early 2024, Georgia again experienced a significant political crisis and public unrest due to the reintroduction of the "foreign agent" law, which many protesters perceived as a threat to civil liberties and democratic principles. The leader of the parliamentary majority, Mamuka Mdinaradze, said that the reason for reintroduction of the bill was the continued circulation of slush funds in the country through non-governmental organizations and covert foreign financing of political activities. On 8 April, the Bureau of the Parliament of Georgia registered the bill for the parliamentary discussions. Critics said that the law, requiring organizations and individuals receiving foreign funding to register as "organizations carrying the interests of a foreign power," was a measure to stifle dissent and limit the activities of NGOs and independent media. Protests erupted across the country, with demonstrators calling for the repeal of the law and the "protection of democratic freedoms". The government's response to the protests varied, with some efforts to engage in dialogue, while many instances of police violence were reported.

On 11 May, a record-breaking protest rally took place, widely regarded as the largest in Georgian history. Despite the rain, tens of thousands gathered at four key locations in Tbilisi: First Republic Square, Marjanishvili Metro, 300 Aragveli Metro, and Tsereteli Avenue. Demonstrators marched along both banks of the Kura, with the four streams of protesters converging symbolically at Europe Square in Metekhi to celebrate Europe Day. Estimates suggest that at least 169,000 people participated, with some reports indicating peak numbers of up to 200,000 or even 300,000.