(AGENPARL) - Roma, 23 Ottobre 2026 - Image
 
PRESS RELEASE

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities

Georgia: Congress Rapporteurs warn of grave threat to local democracy as request to ban major opposition parties under review

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is the political assembly representing local and regional governments across the 46 member States, responsible for promoting and monitoring local

"The Constitutional Court of Georgia's examination of a request by members of the ruling party to ban five major opposition parties is deeply alarming. Such a ban could constitute a dangerous escalation and distance Georgia from its commitments under the European Charter of Local Self-Government and its Additional Protocol.

"Democracy at all levels of government cannot exist without political pluralism and effective checks on the concentration of powers. As we have already warned this year ( , the continued dismantlement of the foundations of Georgian democracy is a matter of grave concern. If the parties were banned, thousands of citizens could be prevented from participating in local democracy because of their political affiliation, as the Venice Commission ( recently alerted. Pluralism would de facto no longer exist in Georgian municipalities.

"We remain committed to supporting Georgia in fulfilling its obligations as a member State of the Council of Europe in safeguarding democracy, human rights and the rule of law at local level. We will follow the proceedings closely, as well as their implications for local democracy, to ensure that all Georgian citizens have a voice on matters closest to them."

Contact: Congress Communication Unit ( ,

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Composed of two chambers – the Chamber of Local Authorities and the Chamber of Regions – and three committees, the Congress brings together 612 elected officials representing more than 130 000 local and regional authorities.

President of the Congress: Gunn Marit Helgesen (Norway, EPP/CCE), President of the Chamber of Local Authorities: Konstantinos Koukas (Greece, EPP/CCE), President of the Chamber of Regions: Cecilia Dalman Eek (Sweden, SOC/G/PD).

Political groups: Group of Socialists, Greens and Progressive Democrats (SOC/G/PD), Group of the European Peoples Party (EPP/CCE), Independent Liberal and Democratic Group (ILDG), European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR), Patriots for Europe (PfE).

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