On August 18, two major opposition parties running in the 2025 municipal elections agreed on a single candidate for mayor of Tbilisi. The Gakharia – For Georgia and Strong Georgia – Lelo parties are nominating Irakli Kupradze as their joint candidate in the capital. During his presentation at European Square in Tbilisi, the following slogans were announced: “We will win this fight” and “Let’s take back our cities and villages together.”

The ruling Georgian Dream party announced incumbent Mayor Kakha Kaladze as its candidate on July 31. He will be running for the post for a third time.

The 2025 municipal elections are scheduled for October 4. The Coalition for Change, Unity – National Movement, the Federalists, and others have withdrawn from the elections. Georgia's fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, one of the leaders of the “Resistance Movement,” argued that the topic of elections has “split the opposition and weakened the protest.”

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze responded to a journalist's question regarding the nomination of Irakli Kupradze as a joint candidate for mayor of Tbilisi, arguing that it shows a serious weakness in the radical opposition.

“Inconsistency is a manifestation of weakness. There is a serious weakness in the radical opposition. They brought this situation upon themselves as they renewed sabotage against the state and its institutions. Today, the radical opposition is very weak; it is in its weakest position,” Kobakhidze stated.

He elaborated on his party's goals: “In general, our goal across the country is to win in all 64 municipalities—that is, 64 mayoral elections and 64 city council elections. As for Tbilisi, our goal is for our mayoral candidate to win in the first round and to win the city council election, which means receiving at least 38 mandates. Yesterday's events once again confirmed that we are very close to this goal. Our expectation is for Kakhi Kaladze to win in the first round and for us to secure at least 38 out of 50 mandates in the city council.”