Tbilisi City Assembly
The elected representative and legislative body of Tbilisi, Georgia.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The Tbilisi City Assembly, commonly called the Tbilisi Sakrebulo, is the representative council within the municipal government of Tbilisi, Georgia. It performs the legislative, policy-setting, oversight, and administrative functions assigned to the capital's local self-government under Georgian law. Its responsibilities include adopting municipal rules and programs, supervising executive bodies, determining aspects of the city's administrative organization, managing municipal property policy, and approving measures related to urban development, transport, public utilities, land use, social services, investment, and innovation. The institution emerged from Georgia's post-Soviet local-government reforms during the country's transition to independence. Sakrebulos were established across Georgia in 1991, with the first elections held on 31 March of that year. Tbilisi initially used a two-level arrangement: district, or rayon, sakrebulos represented local subdivisions, while the city-level sakrebulo was formed from the chairpersons and representatives of those district bodies. At that time, Tbilisi contained ten rayons and the settlement of Tskneti. The 1991 local elections used a single transferable vote system for the district councils and produced comparatively broad political representation. The early local-government system was interrupted by the Georgian coup of 1991–1992, after which municipal councils ceased to function effectively. Local self-government was re-established later in the decade. A new legal framework for the capital was adopted by the Georgian Parliament in 1998, and city-level sakrebulo elections were held under fully proportional representation in 1998 and 2002. Subsequent electoral arrangements developed into the mixed system used by the contemporary council, in which 50 deputies are elected: 25 from party lists and 25 from single-member constituencies. The assembly has also been an important arena for national political competition. Tbilisi is Georgia's political and economic center, and control of its municipal institutions has often been viewed by parties as a platform for broader parliamentary success. During the late 1990s, the council provided an institutional venue for opposition parties to challenge the government of President Eduard Shevardnadze. The 1998 election produced a significant opposition breakthrough: although the ruling Union of Citizens of Georgia finished first, it did not obtain a majority, and Labour Party representative Lado Kakhadze became chair. The opposition's influence was subsequently weakened by limited administrative resources and the movement of some opposition figures toward the ruling party. Kakhadze himself later left Labour and joined the Union of Citizens. Today, the assembly is a municipal public institution rather than a commercial brand. Its work is expressed through council decisions, ordinances, oversight activities, committee proceedings, municipal programs, and decisions affecting the structure and identity of Tbilisi. It may establish or alter administrative units, approve city symbols and rules for honorary titles, name geographical features, regulate building-numbering principles, approve socioeconomic development strategies, and support investment and innovative development programs. The council's role must be understood alongside the city's executive institutions: the Sakrebulo establishes policy and exercises oversight, while executive bodies carry out municipal administration within the legal framework.
History
The Tbilisi City Assembly is part of Georgia's modern system of local self-government. Sakrebulos were created through reforms introduced in 1991 as Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union. The first elections took place on 31 March 1991. Tbilisi's initial arrangement divided local representation between district-level sakrebulos and a city-level body. The city contained ten rayons and the settlement of Tskneti; residents elected the district councils, while the city sakrebulo was composed of district council chairpersons and representatives. The elections used a single transferable vote system and resulted in representation for a relatively broad range of political forces. The Round Table coalition won a majority of the available positions, although the unusually high turnout was influenced by the fact that the local elections were held alongside Georgia's independence referendum. The municipal institutions were soon disrupted by the 1991–1992 coup, and the councils ceased functioning during the ensuing political upheaval. Local self-government was restored in 1998 following the adoption of legislation concerning the Georgian capital. The 1998 and 2002 Tbilisi sakrebulo elections were conducted through fully proportional representation. These contests carried significance beyond municipal administration because political parties viewed success in Tbilisi as a possible foundation for later parliamentary gains. The council also became a setting in which opposition groups challenged the administration associated with President Eduard Shevardnadze. The 1998 election demonstrated both the possibilities and limits of municipal opposition politics. The Union of Citizens of Georgia came first but failed to secure a majority. Lado Kakhadze of the Labour Party subsequently became chair of the sakrebulo. In practice, however, the council had fewer administrative resources than centrally appointed executive institutions, which constrained the opposition's ability to govern. Some opposition deputies were later incorporated into the ruling political structure, and Kakhadze himself moved from the Labour Party to the Union of Citizens. The opposition's local success therefore did not prevent the ruling party from winning decisively in the 1999 parliamentary election. Over time, the assembly developed into the elected legislative and oversight branch of Tbilisi's municipal government. Under Georgia's Organic Law and the Code of Local Self-Government, its remit covers the municipality's administrative-territorial organization, identity, personnel policy, executive oversight, municipal property, social and household services, land and natural-resource use, territorial planning, transport and roads, accounting, innovation, and informatization. It can create or abolish administrative units, change their boundaries, approve local symbols, establish rules for honorary titles and awards, name geographical objects, determine building-numbering rules, participate in inter-municipal nonprofit entities, approve socioeconomic strategies, and adopt programs intended to attract investment or encourage innovation. The contemporary council has 50 deputies elected through a mixed system: 25 are chosen from party lists and 25 from single-member constituencies. Its history reflects the broader development of Georgian local democracy, including institutional interruption during political crisis, renewed municipal elections after independence, competition between national parties at the city level, and the continuing division between elected legislative bodies and municipal executive administration.
- 2025
City council election listed as the most recent election
[1]The reference article identifies 4 October 2025 as the date of the most recent Tbilisi city council election but does not provide detailed results in the supplied material.
- 2021
Municipal election cycle
[1]Tbilisi held a city council election as part of Georgia's municipal electoral cycle.
- 2002
Second fully proportional post-restoration election
[1]Tbilisi held another sakrebulo election under a fully proportional electoral arrangement.
- 1998
Local self-government restored in Tbilisi
[1]Parliament adopted a new legal framework for the Georgian capital, enabling the re-establishment of local self-government and a new Tbilisi sakrebulo election.
- 1998
Opposition breakthrough in the Tbilisi council
[1]The Union of Citizens of Georgia finished first without winning a majority, and Labour Party representative Lado Kakhadze became chair of the assembly.
- 1991
Sakrebulos established under post-Soviet local-government reforms
[1]Georgia created sakrebulos as representative local-government bodies during the transition to independence. Tbilisi initially used a city-level council alongside elected district councils.
- 1991
First local-government elections
[1]The first elections to Georgia's sakrebulos were held on 31 March 1991, alongside the country's independence referendum.
- 1991
Municipal institutions disrupted by the Georgian coup
[1]The local councils ceased functioning after the 1991–1992 Georgian coup, interrupting the initial post-independence local-government system.
Products and positioning
A democratic local-government legislature and representative institution for Georgia's capital city.
Controversies
1998
Governance and corruption concerns surrounding the late-1990s council
The assembly operated in an environment described in the reference material as affected by corruption within the central government and by private commercial interests among some political actors. These concerns formed part of the political context in which opposition parties used the council to challenge the Shevardnadze-era administration.
Brand decisions
1998
Reconstitution of Tbilisi local self-governmentStrategyBackground
Following the interruption of municipal institutions after the 1991–1992 coup, Parliament adopted legislation governing the Georgian capital and provided the basis for restoring local self-government.
Action taken
Tbilisi's representative council was re-established and elected under the new capital-specific legal framework.
Aftermath
The restored council became an important arena for municipal and national political competition.
1998
Election of Lado Kakhadze as assembly chairOtherBackground
The 1998 election produced a council in which the first-place Union of Citizens of Georgia lacked a majority.
Action taken
Opposition Labour Party member Lado Kakhadze was elected chair of the sakrebulo.
Aftermath
The opposition's influence was later reduced by institutional resource constraints and the movement of some opposition representatives into the ruling political camp.
Sources2 sources
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