Georgia’s nine-party Opposition Alliance says it will contact French authorities to seek a national-level investigation into Bidzina Ivanishvili, arguing that the OSCE Moscow Mechanism report has created a “new international reality” in which the Georgian Dream founder should be treated not only as politically illegitimate but as an “accused” figure.
On March 16, Giga Lemonjava, a representative of the Droa party, said the alliance is taking responsibility for ensuring that specific initiatives outlined in the Moscow Mechanism report are put into action.
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According to Lemonjava, the alliance will pursue four tracks over the coming month: urging the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to engage more directly with the situation in Georgia; pressing for an investigation mechanism through the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons into allegations involving chemical agents; approaching countries with universal jurisdiction, with a particular focus on France because Ivanishvili holds French citizenship; and working toward International Criminal Court scrutiny.
The opposition says it is turning to France for two reasons: Ivanishvili is a French citizen, and French law can allow investigations into certain serious international crimes even if they happened abroad.
OSCE report cites democratic backsliding
An OSCE fact-finding mission reported on March 12, 2026 that Georgia has seen “marked democratic backsliding” since spring 2024. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe established the mission last month to assess the human rights situation in the Black Sea nation, AFP reported.
The report, written by rapporteur Patrycja Grzebyk, cited “a pattern of violence and other abuses against protesters, leaders of political opposition and journalists” combined with what it described as almost complete impunity for perpetrators. In some instances, the report said, the violence may have reached the threshold of torture.
The OSCE findings also pointed to an “atmosphere of hostility” toward actors independent of the government and what it called virtually unchecked violence committed by unidentified groups, often in public spaces and in broad daylight, AFP reported.
The report said authorities have limited freedoms of expression, assembly and association through legislation targeting civil society, political opposition, independent media and the LGBTQ community. It also raised concerns about criminal proceedings against government critics.
The report warned that attempts to ban major opposition parties threaten political pluralism, while the government has repeatedly rejected accusations of democratic backsliding, pro-Russian drift and derailing Georgia’s EU bid.
Georgian Dream and the Georgian government rejected the OSCE report, calling it a “selective portrayal” and a “hollow document,” and insisting Georgia remains in full compliance with OSCE commitments and international standards.
Twenty-three of the OSCE’s 57 participating states invoked the Moscow Mechanism last month to establish the fact-finding mission. The rapporteur met Georgian authorities and opposition representatives in Tbilisi for two days while preparing the report.
The initiative follows the launch of a nine-party opposition alliance with a “common strategy” on March 2, aimed at ending the rule of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream. The parties say they will remain separate but coordinate action, with “free and fair elections” and the release of political prisoners among their central goals. Two major opposition forces, Lelo and For Georgia, did not join.
