Georgia
Georgia Votes in Crucial Test for Democracy, EU Ambitions
Georgians began voting on Saturday in watershed elections widely seen as decisive for the fate of the country’s fledgling democracy and European aspirations.
The parliamentary elections pit an unprecedented union of pro-Western opposition forces against a ruling party accused of democratic backsliding and shifting towards Russia.
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Brussels has warned that the vote will determine European Union candidate Tbilisi’s chances of joining the bloc.
Opinion polls indicate opposition parties could get enough votes to form a coalition government to supplant the ruling Georgian Dream party, controlled by powerful billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.
“Georgia’s traditionally fractured opposition forces have managed to forge an unprecedented united front against Georgian Dream,” said analyst Gela Vasadze at Georgia’s Strategic Analysis Centre.
“But if the ruling party attempts to stay in power regardless of the election outcome, then there is the risk of post-electoral turmoil.”
Georgian Dream says it wants to win a supermajority that will allow it to pass a constitutional ban on all major opposition parties.
In power since 2012, the party initially pursued a liberal pro-Western policy agenda. But over the last two years the party has reversed course.
Its campaign has centered on a conspiracy theory about a “global war party” that controls Western institutions and is seeking to drag Georgia into the Russia-Ukraine war.
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The Belarusian leader’s comments to Russian media were in response to a question concerning the challenges the Union State of Russia and Belarus is facing.
In a country still scarred by Russia’s 2008 invasion, the party has offered voters bogeyman stories about an imminent threat of war, which only Georgian Dream could prevent.
In a recent TV interview, Ivanishvili painted a grotesque image of the West where “orgies are taking place right in the streets.”
‘Crucial test’
On Wednesday, Georgian Dream bussed tens of thousands of people from across the country to a campaign rally in Tbilisi where Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze vowed to lead Georgia toward EU membership.
At the same time, he accused EU leaders of “injustice, the rejection of Christian dogmas, LGBT propaganda, and disrespect for others’ sovereignty.”
Last Sunday, tens of thousands of Georgians staged a pro-Europe rally in the capital.
Georgian Dream’s passage of a controversial “foreign influence” law this spring, targeting civil society, sparked weeks of mass street protests and was criticized as a Kremlin-style measure to silence dissent.
The move prompted Brussels to freeze Georgia’s EU accession process, while Washington imposed sanctions on dozens of Georgian officials.
Earlier this month, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell cautioned that Georgian Dream’s actions “signal a shift towards authoritarianism.”
He branded the upcoming polls “a crucial test for democracy in Georgia and its European Union path.”
The Kremlin on Friday blasted “unprecedented attempts at Western interference” in the vote, accusing it of “trying to twist Tbilisi’s hand” and “dictate terms.”
Kobakhidze has said that ties with the West will normalize once the Ukraine war ends.
Undecided voters
The latest polls show that the opposition is poised to garner enough ballots to take power.
The potential coalition grouping includes Georgia’s main opposition force, jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement (UNM) and Akhali, a recently formed party headed by former UNM leaders.
Along with several smaller parties, they have signed up to a pro-European policy platform outlining far-reaching electoral, judicial and law enforcement reforms.
They have agreed to form an interim multi-party government to advance the reforms – if they command enough seats in parliament – before calling fresh elections.
Nestled between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, Georgia was once considered a rare example of a democracy among ex-Soviet nations.
But elections in the country of some four million regularly spark mass protests.
A poll conducted by US pollster Edison Research shortly before the elections showed 34% of decided voters would cast their ballots for Georgian Dream, while the four opposition alliances combined are set to garner 53% of the vote.
No other party is expected to clear the five-percent electoral threshold needed to secure seats in the 150-member legislature.
But the outcome of the vote is far from a foregone conclusion, as more than a quarter of respondents told the pollster they were either undecided or refused to name their preferred political force.
Voting, which started at 0400 GMT, ends at 1600 GMT, with exit polls set to be released on closing.
The elections, held under a proportional party list system, will be monitored by international observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Georgia
Georgia attains highest AP Top 25 ranking since 2003, with Florida on deck
No. 18 Bulldogs bring 13-1 record into Tuesday night game against defending national champion Gators in Gainesville.
Georgia coach Mike White (right) talks with guard Jeremiah Wilkinson during the Bulldogs’ win against Cincinnati in a Holiday Hoopsgiving game Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Georgia won 84-65. (Jason Getz/AJC)
ATHENS — Georgia basketball is back on the map, ranked in the AP Top 25 for a third consecutive week for the first time in nearly 23 years.
The Bulldogs (13-1, 1-0 SEC) are ranked No. 18 in the AP Top 25, up five spots from last week’s ranking, on the strength of a 104-100 overtime win over Auburn on Saturday.
It’s the highest Georgia has been ranked in the AP Top 25 poll since Jim Harrick coached the program and came in at No. 17 on Feb. 3, 2003 — the most recent season UGA has been ranked in the poll three or more consecutive weeks.
Unbeaten teams Arizona (14-0), Michigan (13-0) and Iowa State (14-0) hold the top three spots in this week’s AP Top 25, with UConn (14-1) and Purdue (13-1) rounding out the top five.
Vanderbilt (14-0, 1-0) is the SEC’s highest-ranked AP Top 25 team, coming in at No. 11, while Alabama (11-3, 1-0) is at No. 13, Arkansas (11-3, 1-0) is No. 15 and then No. 18 Georgia is the league’s fourth-highest-ranked team entering into this week’s games.
“Our guys have been so eager, probably like most teams in our league and throughout other leagues, at the highest level of college basketball,” UGA fourth-year coach Mike White said about the start of SEC play.
“We were playing a bunch of midmajors through the holidays, and you can’t let the moment be too big.”
Georgia’s schedule strength jumped from 298th to 231st with the win over Auburn, and it figures to get another boost when the Bulldogs play at Florida (9-5, 0-1) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
“Our confidence comes from within, we know what we have in our locker room,” said Georgia guard Jeremiah Wilkinson, a transfer from Cal who scored 31 in the win over Auburn and leads the Bulldogs with 18.3 points per game this season.
“We knew what we were capable of before coming into the (Auburn) game, and we told each other before the game: Let’s act like we’re supposed to win the game. Let’s act like we’re supposed to be here.”
Georgia leads the nation in scoring offense (99.4 points per game), fast-break points (27.0 per game) and blocked shots (8.0 per game).
The Gators, featuring preseason All-SEC players Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Boogie Fland, were the media’s preseason pick to win the league.
Georgia — which didn’t have a player picked on the first, second or third team — was picked to finish 14th in the SEC.
White, who coached Florida from 2015-2022, leading the Gators to four NCAA tournaments and an Elite Eight appearance in 2017, said Georgia is looking forward to the opportunity to play the defending national champion.
“We’ll fly around, we’ll play hard, we’ll be prepared,” White said. “This team has a pretty healthy level of intrinsic confidence, and you’ll need that to be competitive down there against a team that’s coming off a national championship.”
Georgia split with Florida last season, losing 89-59 in Gainesville, Florida, on Jan. 25 and then handing the Gators their last loss of the season, 88-83, on Feb. 25 in Athens.
“It’s nothing different than what we’ve just seen tonight (against Auburn),” said UGA guard Marcus “Smurf” Millender, who leads Georgia with 54 assists and a 40% 3-point shooting clip.
“They put their jerseys on like we put our jerseys on. We’re going to give them our best game and hope they bring it too.”
Florida fell out of the AP Top 25 poll this week after losing its SEC-opening game at Missouri 76-74 on Saturday and is among other teams still receiving votes.
Georgia has lost six consecutive games in Gainesville dating back to a 61-55 win on March 2, 2019, in Tom Crean’s first year leading the Bulldogs.
Georgia
5 things to watch for in Georgia politics this year
Your daily jolt of news and analysis from the AJC politics team.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is his second and final term of office. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Marjorie Taylor Greene stokes feud with Donald Trump as she exits Congress.
- Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens will be sworn in today for a second term.
- Dana Barrett is expected to run for secretary of state as a Democrat.
Looking ahead
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Things to know
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- A yearslong challenge to Georgia’s anti-abortion law and a case blaming Snapchat for a teenager’s reckless driving are among the cases to watch in state courts this year, the AJC’s Rosie Manins reports.
- Garland Favorito believes the U.S. government covered up the truth about the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Now, he’s become a leader among conservatives who say Georgia’s 2020 presidential election was rife with fraud, the AJC’s David Wickert reports.
- A shadowy group has paid roughly $8 million for ads criticizing Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ campaign for governor. Now, Jones is urging the Federal Communications Commission to step in, Greg Bluestein reports.
Last day

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, is stepping down from Congress today.
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Dickens’ second term
Andre Dickens was first sworn in as mayor of Atlanta during an inauguration ceremony at Georgia Tech in 2022.
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Ossoff’s strategy
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff held a rally in Savannah last July.
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Campaign watch

Democrat Dana Barrett is a Fulton County commissioner.
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Listen up
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Today in Washington

President Donald Trump waved after arriving at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. He was returning from a holiday break in Florida.
:sgnineppaH
- President Donald Trump participates in a policy meeting at the White House.
- The full House is out for one more day.
- The House Ethics Committee is expected to announce an update on a complaint involving U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, and his top aide, Brandon Phillips. The committee disclosed in November that the complaint had been referred to its members on Oct. 7 and set a deadline for today to announce its course of action. The complaint wasn’t made public, and Collins’ office has called it a “desperate and baseless attack” by the U.S. Senate candidate’s political opponents.
- The Senate return for evening votes.
Shoutouts
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- Rebecca Yardley, executive director of America First Georgia (was Tuesday).
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Before you go

Georgia author Allen Levi tells the story of a man named Theo who transforms lives with small acts of kindness.
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Georgia
Georgia lands first transfer portal commitment in Clemson transfer Khalil Barnes
ATHENS — From a statistical standpoint, the two things Georgia did best were convert on fourth down and score touchdowns in the redzone. Entering the Ole Miss game, the …
Connor Riley
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