Suspicion of election fraud: Protest in Georgia turns right into a avenue battle | EUROtoday

The pro-European protests in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi proceed. Demonstrators and police clashed in entrance of parliament on Saturday night. Masked police in riot gear used rubber bullets, tear fuel and water cannons in opposition to protesters who threw fireworks, an AFP information company reporter noticed. Flames could possibly be seen behind a window of the parliament constructing.

The huge protests within the Caucasus state started on Thursday night. They are notably directed in opposition to the postponement of the nation’s EU accession negotiations till 2028, introduced by Prime Minister Iraqi Kobachidze.

In distinction, hundreds of individuals took to the streets on Thursday and Friday night. In addition, a whole bunch of civil servants, primarily from the Foreign and Defense Ministries, in addition to judges revealed joint protest notes. More than 100 colleges and universities additionally remained closed in protest.

During the protests on Saturday evening, 107 individuals have been arrested for “disobedience to lawful police orders and petty hooliganism,” the Georgian Interior Ministry stated. Ten law enforcement officials suffered accidents.

At a press convention on Saturday, Prime Minister Kobakhidze thanked the Interior Ministry and all law enforcement officials who “defended Georgia’s constitutional order and preserved the country’s sovereignty and independence.”

However, Georgian investigative authorities opened an investigation into abuse of authority within the type of violence in opposition to demonstrators and media representatives. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) confirmed a “disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by the police” which constituted a “serious violation of freedom of assembly”.

Acting President Salome Zurabishvili, a declared opponent of Prime Minister Kobachidze, declared her “solidarity” with the “resistance movement” in a televised speech. “We will stick together until Georgia achieves its goals: return to the European path and new elections,” stated Zurabishvili.

In an interview with AFP information company on Saturday, Zurabishvili stated she wouldn’t go away workplace till the disputed parliamentary election in October is repeated. “As long as there are no new elections and a parliament that elects a new president according to new rules, my mandate will continue,” Zurabishvili stated.

After its victory within the parliamentary elections, which was overshadowed by allegations of fraud, the ruling Georgian Dream celebration determined with its parliamentary majority to elect a brand new president on December 14th. Zurabishvili had categorized the brand new parliament as unconstitutional on account of allegations of electoral fraud and challenged the election outcomes earlier than the Constitutional Court. According to authorized consultants, the selections of the brand new parliament are invalid till the court docket guidelines on Zurabishvili’s software.