TBILISI: Georgia’s ruling party secured victory in local elections while police deployed tear gas and water cannons against anti-government protesters attempting to breach the presidential palace.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators responded to opposition calls to protect democracy during Saturday’s polls, which represented the populist Georgian Dream party’s first electoral challenge since last year’s disputed parliamentary vote.
The central election commission reported Georgian Dream had captured municipal council majorities in every municipality with over 80% of ballots counted from nearly 75% of precincts.
Ruling party candidates achieved landslide victories in mayoral races across all cities according to official results.
Authorities had promised a strong response to those they accused of seeking revolution before the massive demonstration unfolded.
Tens of thousands waving Georgian and European Union flags filled Tbilisi’s Freedom Square for what organisers called a national assembly.
These typically low-profile local elections gained significance following months of independent media raids, civil society restrictions, and numerous opposition figure imprisonments.
Opera star-turned-activist Paata Burchuladze received loud applause at Freedom Square while reading a declaration that returned power to the people and branded the government illegitimate.
Protesters marching toward the presidential palace attempted to enter the compound, prompting law enforcement to deploy tear gas and water cannon against them.
Demonstrators constructed barricades and set them ablaze before the crowd dispersed after midnight.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze vowed to prosecute every person involved in what he called violent acts during the protests.
The government prevented an attempted coup planned by foreign intelligence services according to the prime minister’s unsubstantiated claim.
Kobakhidze accused European Union officials of supporting attempts to overthrow Georgia’s constitutional order while urging the bloc’s ambassador to condemn the unrest.
The Interior Ministry initiated an investigation into calls for violently altering Georgia’s constitutional order and arrested five protest leaders including Burchuladze.
Pro-opposition Pirveli TV reported the 70-year-old operatic bass was detained in a Tbilisi hospital intensive care unit where he was receiving treatment for a heart attack.
Deputy Interior Minister Alexandre Darakvelidze confirmed the five arrested leaders face up to nine years imprisonment.
Jailed reformist ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili had urged supporters to protest on election day as their last chance to save Georgian democracy.
Saakashvili warned that without action many more people would face arrest while others would be driven out and total hopelessness would prevail.
Seventy-seven-year-old protester Natela Gvakharia told AFP that anyone caring about Georgia’s fate should participate in protecting democracy from Georgian Dream’s destruction.
Rights groups document approximately 60 imprisonments over the past year including key opposition figures, journalists, and activists.
Amnesty International stated the elections occurred amid severe political reprisals against opposition figures and civil society organizations.
Georgian Dream has maintained power since 2012 under the control of billionaire former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.
The party initially positioned itself as a liberal alternative to Saakashvili’s reformist camp before shifting toward Moscow-aligned policies according to critics.
Georgian Dream claims it safeguards stability in the four-million-person nation against Western deep state efforts to drag Georgia into Ukraine’s war.
Recent survey data from the Institute of Social Studies and Analysis showed the party’s approval rating at approximately 36% compared to 54% for opposition groups.
The European Union has sanctioned several Georgian Dream officials over previous protest crackdowns and threatened visa-free travel suspension without rule of law improvements. – AFP
