Sopo Japaridze is the chair of Solidarity Network, an independent care workers union in Georgia. She has been a labor organizer for over a decade. She researches and studies labor and social relations and writes for various publications. She also cofounded the Soviet Georgia history initiative and podcast, Reimagining Soviet Georgia and is part of the Civil Society in Georgia.
Georgia’s opposition labeled Saturday’s election “totally rigged.” But its insistence that the ruling party’s campaign relied on fearmongering propaganda points to a different story: the opposition struggled to eat into the ruling party’s electorate.
Anti-government protests in Tbilisi have been hailed as a fight over Georgia’s European future — even though the government itself wants to join the EU. Amid the geopolitical posturing, the real issue being ignored is the chronic crisis of Georgian democracy.