Georgian opposition prepares protests, gov’t insists ‘world has acknowledged elections as democratic’

Protests against the alleged falsification of parliamentary elections in Georgia will continue on Saturday, November 14. 

Leaders of the united opposition say their demands remained unchanged: resignation of the head of the Central Election Commission and the scheduling of repeat elections.

The opposition intends to continue protests until the authorities fulfill these demands.All seven opposition parties who received seats in parliament have refused to take up their mandates and are pushing for new parliamentary elections.

On November 8 a massive protest rally took place in Tbilisi, ending late in the evening with two dispersals with the use of water cannon and tear gas. Several dozens of people were injured and hospitalized. On November 9 protests continued, several opposition leaders remained at the parliament building until morning.

• “The water pressure was so strong you couldn’t cover your face with your hands” – protest dispersal in Tbilisi. Video
• Georgian opposition calls for new rally, gov’t threatens criminal charges

What the opposition says

“Authorities have the key to the current circumstances in their hands”, said one of the United National Movement leaders Zaal Udumashvili.

“We stand for dialogue with the authorities, however the main issues remain annulling the results of the shameful process, the role of the chairperson of CEC in all of this, the issue of political prisoners”, said one of the leaders of European Georgia Giga Bokeria.

What the authorities say

On November 10, representatives of the leading party Georgian Dream met with the OSCE monitoring mission in Tbilisi.

After the meeting, executive secretary of the party Irakli Kobakhidze said that all international partners have acknowledged the election results, and the Georgian authorities daily received congratulations from various countries.

“The only ones who still haven’t acknowledged the election results are several opposition parties who lost. However we have certain optimistic expectations, and we are sure that at the end of the day they will acknowledge the results of democratic elections”, said Kobakhidze.