Local elections held on October 4 in Georgia have turned into violent anti-government protests in the country's capital, Tbilisi. During the vote, government opponents organized a demonstration in front of the parliament building and declared a national seizure of power. Some demonstrators attempted to force their way into the president's residence. Hours of clashes with police ensued.
Protesters storming the Georgian president's residence were repelled by police forces with water cannons and tear gas. Instead of resigning, they built barricades and lit fires. During the night, Georgian special forces dispersed the demonstrators and detained dozens of people, including leaders of some opposition groups.
Six protesters and 21 officers were injured in the clashes. Georgian independent media reported that repression for the events in Tbilisi would fall on five opposition politicians, who face up to nine years in prison.
The fifth president of Georgia, pro-European Salome Zourabichvili, believes that the clashes with police near the presidential residence were a provocation aimed at discrediting the peaceful demonstration taking place in front of the parliament building.
The local elections have been boycotted by several opposition parties, including former President Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement, which called on its supporters to take to the streets.
The Georgian Dream party, in power since 2012, has been accused of seeking rapprochement with Moscow since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including by adopting a law on "foreign agents" criticized by the European Union. The country's authorities have also suspended the process of integration with the EU.
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Source: IAR, PAP