Georgia’s opposition organised a protest in Tbilisi on Sunday, with demonstrators marching from Tbilisi State University to Rustaveli Square under the slogan ‘Georgia Without Ivanishvili. Georgia Deserves Better’. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, is a billionaire businessman who served as Prime Minister from 2012 to 2013. The rally marks the beginning of a campaign that will continue until 28 November — the second anniversary of Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement that Georgia would suspend its EU integration process until 2028. The announcement triggered mass protests, violence, and arrests of protesters. The opposition parties say they will continue peaceful protests and demand free and fair elections past this date. Representatives of parties belonging to the opposition alliance addressed the crowd at the rally. ‘28 November should be one of the key peak days. Today, despite the weather, and despite having very little time to work and organise, there are still a lot of people here. But we need to understand that numbers are what matter, and we should be glad that the time has come when we can achieve results through our numbers — Georgia without Ivanishvili!’ Nika Gvaramia, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, said. Nika Gvaramia, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media. ‘Bidzina Ivanishvili is making such an outrageous decision that we should all be in despair. But in reality, the opposite is true — by banning the alternative, Ivanishvili is acknowledging his own crisis of legitimacy. He is admitting that he no longer trusts the Georgian people, that he is afraid of the free choice of the Georgian people, and rightly so’, Tamar Chergoleishvili, one of the leaders of the Federalists, said. Tamar Chergoleishvili, one of the leaders of the Federalists. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media. ‘Everyone who has no answers to systemic poverty, corruption, emigration, and divided families, or to children growing up in poverty with video calls as their only connection to their parents, should fear the Georgian people. This is the crisis of legitimacy that Ivanishvili is showing us today’, she added. The rally comes as the Constitutional Court in Batumi considers a claim filed by 88 MPs from the ruling Georgian Dream party seeking to ban opposition parties. Explainer | What you need to know about the lawsuit to ban Georgia’s opposition Georgia’s Constitutional Court has begun hearing the controversial case to ban the country’s main opposition parties. OC Media Mikheil Gvadzabia ‘I want to urge you to stand alongside political parties — not because they are necessarily flawless, because nobody is, but because it will be impossible to achieve the change we all want without strengthening political parties and political organisation’, Levan Tsutskiridze, the leader of Freedom Square. Levan Tsutskiridze, leader of Freedom Square. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media. ‘We cannot win democracy or reclaim the state without political organisation. That is what these people and these organisations are here for. Stand alongside them, become their members — our members, or members of other parties that you feel closest to. Become their donors, their supporters, and help spread their message. Do not fall for the lie or the propaganda that everyone in politics is bad. That is not the case; you will find decent people in every party’, Tsutskiridze said. The opposition alliance, established in March 2026, brings together the following nine political parties: Ahali, Girchi – More Freedom, Droa, United National Movement (UNM), Strategy Aghmashenebeli, Freedom Square, Federalists, European Georgia, and National Democratic Party (NDP).