Droa

Join us to discuss the stakes of Armenia's upcoming election. Drawing on recent developments in Georgia, Moldova & Hungary, panelists will assess Russia’s ability to exploit domestic divisions and weaponize unresolved security questions to influence political outcomes. (1/2)

On May 22, there was a clash between shepherds in Rustavi and the police. The shepherds ask for routes for moving the animals through the mountain passes. 1. By now, the Georgian Dream seems to be completely incapable of solving any minor governance issue without a physical clash; 2. Social protests erupt more and more. Just a couple of weeks ago there was a farmers’ protest in Marneuli, for example, which also ended in brawls with the police. The Georgian Dream’s corruption is growing more audacious, and so is the social inequality. A reminder that oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili’s current personal wealth to Georgian GDP ratio is about 25%. 3. “Aren’t we the people of Georgia too?” you can hear them say to the police at the end of the video, and the shepherds seem to be ethnic Azerbaijani minority. Which is an added potential problem and failure of governance. 📷 Formula

An employee of the State Security Service of Georgia’s Anti-Corruption Agency was found shot dead in his car. There have already been at the very least a couple of such cases in recent months.

GEL 1,170,000 (~USD 440,000) fundraised as of this minute for children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, whose families protest 24/7 to get treatment. The fundraiser was launched by student movement "Defend IliaUni" [defend Ilia State University] as a live charity marathon about three days ago. More parallel fundraisers have been announced, such as percentage transfers by publishing. Maybe I’m missing something, but I do not really remember such a massive fundraising in Georgia. Firstly, whatever alleviates the condition of the children is such a joy. But secondly, it’s such an ironclad way to embarrass the regime that claims they “have no money to treat the children” and smear existing treatments in an effort to avoid responsibility legitimately. Because what are they going to do about it? Freeze the accounts of the fundraiser? :) Every GEL is a political statement too, and there are lots of rumors that even Georgian Dream-affiliated people and money have donated. 📷 Nino Kikvadze, @Publika_ge

This is big! PACE Monitoring Committee draft resolution on Georgia: conditions for holding “genuinely democratic elections” currently do not exist (!); There’s “relentless crackdown on the opposition, civil society, and independent media,” and charges against jailed opposition leaders Elene Khoshtaria and Nika Melia are “clearly trumped-up.” @Helenkhosh

.@CivilNetTV @azatutyunradio @OCMediaorg @JAMnewsCaucasus 🙏🏻 🇦🇲🇪🇺🇬🇪

Open Letter to the People of Armenia 🇦🇲 I am addressing you from political imprisonment, where I have been confined for my struggle for a European future. I am proud to fight for my country’s historical mission, and imprisonment cannot be an obstacle to this. I want to express my admiration and respect for Armenian society, which has managed to secure a European perspective through its own hard work in a difficult situation. Who better than Georgians and Armenians know the meaning of the struggle and labor for freedom, statehood, independence, and true peace? In the 35-year history of our independence, a historical moment has arrived where our region has a great chance for a breakthrough toward freedom, peace, and development. The presence of European leaders in Yerevan filled me with joy and respect toward you. I am glad that an event of such historical importance for the region took place specifically in Yerevan—something that would have been difficult to imagine not long ago. Russia cannot stop our peoples' aspiration for freedom, and I want you to know that we do not intend to surrender; rather, we intend to win this hybrid war against Russia. The South Caucasus, with its unique history, will be a region of peace, development, and freedom within our native European family, and today, Armenia has taken a massive step toward this! Elene Khoshtaria Rustavi Women’s Prison 11/05/2026 🇦🇲🇪🇺🇬🇪

Most Georgian opposition parties are not only waiting to be constitutionally banned but are also impoverished. My party and my coalition are even more broke than others. These are numbers for spending for visits, published by ISFED. Red indicates international visits, dark indicates domestic visits. It goes: UNM, Alliance of Patriots (more russopholic, niche), Gakharia — For Georgia, Lelo — Strong Georgia, European Democrats (contextually less relevant), Girchi, etc. Droa and Coalition for Change cannot even be found here, all while we are the largest democratic coalition in Georgia and, together with the UNM and other smaller parties, we represent the backbone of Georgia’s foreign relations. We the foreign relations of Droa and two other parties in the Coalition (Ahali and Girchi — More Freedom) fundraise for our visits on our own and crash on the couches of friends and friends of friends who happen to live in host cities, such as Strasbourg. I thus want to thank you all for all the donations you make that enables me to keep doing what I do for Georgia ❤️ I also want to give myself a little break and underline that I’m proud to have crafted a self-made platform under literal crackdowns — a platform that is trusted by great people for analysis and even funding for us to proceed.

If a person does not resist the police and follows them, handcuffs are legally unnecessary. “We decide what we do [with the handcuffs].” They just enjoy it. 👇🏻 the unlawful detention of @DroaParty member Tata Peradze from the party office. Her “crime” is protesting on a sidewalk and “hindering transport movement.” 2 days' detention. #TerrorinGeorgia #GeorgiaProtests 📷 Droa

Unlawfully imprisoned demodratic leader @Helenkhosh’s impeccable letter about the fundamental importance of the #EPC Summit in Yerevan for democracy and security in the region. Russia is withdrawing; Europe is anchoring its presence; And Armenia can now be the European anchor in the region, similarly to what Georgia was in the previous decades. These developments are also a message of hope for Georgians that we are not alone. @NikolPashinyan @AraratMirzoyan @MFAofArmenia @alensimonyan

I am happy with all my heart and mind for such a breakthrough by Armenia. Correct, patriotic, thoughtful work is always appreciated, and @NikolPashinyan is an example of this. For us, Georgians, now that we are under a direct Russian rule, the summit in Armenia is an event of the greatest importance. Europe is present in the region, and more powerfully than ever. Just as our breakthrough brought Europe to the region before, Armenia can assume this role now and, by extension, help us out as well. The main point is that this is a further step in Russia’s withdrawal and the demonstration of power of Europe. This is a chance for peace and freedom. This is a hope for Georgians that we are not alone. - Rustavi Women's Prison 04/05/2026 @AraratMirzoyan @MFAofArmenia @alensimonyan

Georgia’s Opposition Alliance is holding meetings in Kutaisi today. Tomorrow, they’ll be in Batumi. This is part of the May 26 preparatory campaign for a big Independence Day rally in Tbilisi. 📷 Opposition Alliance

Georgia has been expelled from yet another international partnership, and it will likely affect governance transparency and accountability in a very negative way. Of course, full responsibility falls on the Georgian Dream. For public officials, as well as for municipalities, the Open Governance Partnership was an important tool that ensured accountability of state institutions to the population, effective and transparent governance, public access to public administration, the development of e-government and, accordingly, quality services for citizens. OGP currently unites 75 states. Georgia used to be considered one of the leading countries in the organization, and in 2018 Georgia even chaired OGP. Here are some of the benefits that OGP brought Georgia: • The portal my. gov. ge, created within the framework of OGP, where citizens can receive various public services online, request documents, view their own data, request extracts, certificates, applications, and more; • An established electronic system through which every citizen has control over any procurement carried out by the state; • Mechanisms for transparency and political impartiality in the civil service have been introduced; • A level of transparency in the financing of political parties has been established; • A draft law on freedom of data has been developed; • Mechanisms for monitoring the property declarations of officials have been introduced; • OGP membership obliges the country to publicly publish court decisions; • OGP membership has various aspects, including the involvement of citizens in budgetary and legislative processes, and the transparency of state-owned enterprises. The 2024-2025 action plan envisaged improving access to public information, the level of transparency, including state financing, the complete implementation of OGP mechanisms in municipalities, and strengthening citizen engagement. These areas, naturally, will no longer be implemented. Excluding Georgia from the OGP list means that the country has lost an international mechanism that ensures state transparency and accountability, while citizens have lost their own ability to exercise control. Analysis by Nino Dolidze, @DroaParty opengovpartnership.org/news/georgia-p…

The Commissioner for Human Rights: “… remains concerned that no law enforcement officers have been brought to justice for the violent dispersal of protests in 2024 and early 2025. In his meetings, he reiterated his call for an independent and thorough inquiry into the use of water cannons containing chemical substances against protesters. He drew the authorities’ attention to the 2020 UN Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement and encourages them to integrate these in their guidance to law enforcement officers.”

#Georgia: authorities must uphold democratic freedoms. 🔹Ensure accountability of law enforcement for alleged ill-treatment 🔹Repeal or amend restrictive laws that have a chilling effect on civic space 🔹Sustain attention to the #HumanRights of persons in and displaced from occupied territories Read my full statement👇 coe.int/en/web/commiss…

In 2025, “Six governments—those in Afghanistan, Benin, Georgia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe—were identified for the first time as having used tactics of transnational repression.” freedomhouse.org/article/author…

Despite the Georgian Dream’s metrics of economic growth, most Georgian families feel stagflation kick in, and prices become unbearable. The Opposition Alliance held a briefing today about comparing economic struggles. It includes: cutting the excise tax on fuel in half (to the 2016 markers), cutting income tax and VAT by 1%.

The Georgian Dream’s boasted economic growth is mostly about Russia sanctions evasion, Russian tourism, and Russian and Belarusian IT sector inflow. But it has peaked, and now real structural weaknesses in the Georgian economy could likely hit hard, potentially eroding even the Georgian Dream patronage core. A great article! cacianalyst.org/publications/a…

Georgia’s Opposition Alliance congratulates Hungary! 🇬🇪🇭🇺🇪🇺 “We congratulate the Hungarian people on the victory of the Tisza Party, led by Péter Magyar, in the parliamentary elections. This result represents a clear and decisive choice by the Hungarian people in favor of democracy. Hungary is an integral part of European civilization, as reflected in Viktor Orbán’s concession of defeat. The peaceful transfer of power remains one of the most important achievements of democratic tradition. Hungary’s firm and principled stance in the ongoing confrontation with Russia and other adversaries of the free world is of great importance to Georgia and to the broader international community. We wish the new Hungarian government every success and express our hope that, in the new reality shaped by the Hungarian people’s choice, the influence of forces aligned with Putin’s Russia within the European Union and the wider free world will be significantly reduced. We also hope that cooperation among free nations in the field of security will be further strengthened.” @magyarpeterMP @_OrbanAnita @magyar_tisza

Statement of the Opposition Alliance [of Georgia] on the deportation of Afgan Sadygov: “By expelling Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Sadygov from the country, Ivanishvili’s regime has violated a decision of the European Court of Human Rights, which prohibited his extradition on the grounds that it posed a threat to his life. This move by the regime is a personal vendetta against Sadygov due to his critical stance toward Ivanishvili. We, the Opposition Alliance, express our support for Afgan Sadygov and call on the international community to closely monitor this case in order to protect the journalist’s life and health.”