Georgian protesters rally in Tbilisi ahead of first session of newly-elected parliament

Thousands of people have gathered outside the Georgian parliament in the capital Tbilisi to protest ahead of the first session of the newly-elected parliament, scheduled for Monday.

Protesters vowed to spend the night outside parliament to make their voices heard, accusing the populist government of rigging the results of October’s elections.

Members of opposition parties have also announced their refusal to participate in parliamentary activities.

“The protest will be going the whole night and tomorrow they have to hear our voice that this elections are rigged and they [the ruling Georgian Dream party] do not have the legitimacy of the Georgian people and legitimacy of international community,” said leader of the Unity National Movement coalition, Khatia Dekanoidze.

The round-the-clock protests in Tbilisi follow the 26 October elections that kept the governing pro-Russian Georgian Dream party in power.

The party’s billionaire founder, Bidzina Ivanishvil, made his fortune in Russia, and critics have accused him of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow.

Opponents say the vote was rigged and suspect neighbouring Russia of election interference.

Many Georgians also viewed the election as a referendum on the country’s effort to join the European Union.

The Central Election Commission said Georgian Dream won about 54% of the vote and party leaders have rejected opposition claims of fraud at the polls.

European election observers said the election took place in a “divisive” atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

Zourabichvili pushes back

Pro-European President Salome Zourabichvili, who has rejected the election outcome, declared earlier this month that she would appeal the result to the Constitutional Court.

Zourabichvili, who holds a mostly ceremonial position, has said Georgia has fallen victim to pressure from Moscow, which takes a hard line against post-Soviet countries joining the EU.

The EU suspended Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely in June after the country’s parliament passed a law requiring organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as ‘pursuing the interest of a foreign power’, similar to a Russian law used to discredit and curtail organisations critical of the government.

The party has also pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.