“Georgian Dream is trying to legalize the mass restriction of voting rights for a large part of the opposition electorate — emigrants. The party For Georgia will strongly resist this unconstitutional initiative. We will use every political lever and instrument to ensure that this harmful decision is not legalized and that our emigrants are not restricted from participating in elections,” MP Giorgi Sharashidze of the party For Georgia stated during a briefing.

He made the remark in response to the planned amendments to the Election Code, according to which — similar to local self-government elections — citizens located abroad would only be able to vote in parliamentary elections within the territory of Georgia.

Sharashidze stated that Georgian Dream openly admitted that they want to restrict the voting rights of everyone who is not under their propaganda influence.

“We respond to Georgian Dream’s latest absurd, unconstitutional, anti-state initiative to create artificial barriers for Georgian citizens — our emigrants — to the universal constitutional principle of the right to vote.

Instead of creating more guarantees for emigrants to participate in elections under the conditions of increasing emigration, to ensure fairness and legitimacy of elections, Georgian Dream is doing the complete opposite — it is imposing artificial barriers on tens of thousands of Georgian citizens and is effectively preventing them from freely participating in elections, which directly contradicts the principle of universal suffrage. Most importantly, by this initiative, Georgian Dream admits that it is afraid of elections and that its so-called 60% support is nothing more than a lie and a myth.

With this initiative, Georgian Dream is trying to isolate Georgia not only from the international community but now also from its own citizens.

Georgian Dream admits that it wants to restrict the voting rights of everyone who is not under its propaganda influence — and they openly revealed this.

Georgian Dream is attempting to legalize a massive restriction of voter participation for a large part of the opposition electorate — emigrants.

The attempt to run away from its own citizens, to isolate the country from its own people, and the fear of the people’s will — this is today’s reality of Georgian Dream.

They are depriving the right to participate in the political life of the country from a segment of the population that constitutes one of the most important pillars of the national economy.

Remittances from emigrants in 2024 amounted to almost 10 billion GEL — a sum equal to 40% of the state budget and nearly 30% of the total consolidated national budget.

Today, Georgian Dream openly acknowledged that emigrants are a problem for them because their propaganda does not reach them, and they have no means of influence over these people — no intimidation, no bribery, no propaganda. Therefore, the only solution left is to create barriers to their participation in elections.

The party For Georgia will strongly oppose Georgian Dream’s unconstitutional initiative. We will use every political lever and instrument to prevent this harmful decision from being legalized and to ensure that our emigrants are not restricted from exercising their right to vote,” Sharashidze stated.

Georgian Dream is working on a new “Election Code.” As Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili announced during today’s briefing, the Code will be fully revised, and among the changes, just like in local self-government elections, citizens will only be able to vote in parliamentary elections within the state borders of Georgia.