Tbilisi has once again been rocked by protests, with protesters attempting to seize the presidential palace; five people have been detained and the demonstration has been dispersed, the BBC reports.
Authorities have used water cannons and pepper spray to disperse the demonstrations. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said protesters had also tried to overthrow the government on the evening of the 4th of October and accused the European Union of interfering in the country’s internal affairs, Reuters reports. He said no one would go unpunished.
The situation in Georgia has been volatile since last year, when the Georgian Dream party won the elections. The pro-European opposition believes the elections were unfair. EU accession talks were suspended after the elections.
The protests coincided with local elections, which the opposition largely boycotted. The Georgian Dream party won a majority in all local governments, with a combined vote of more than 80%.
Demonstrators called on Interior Ministry officials to respect citizens’ demands and to arrest six senior figures from the Georgian Dream party.
Tens of thousands of people protested in central Tbilisi on the 4th of October.
Protesters then marched to the presidential palace and tried to enter it.
The government said 21 police officers and six protesters were taken to hospital with various injuries.
The protests follow a crackdown on activists, independent media and the opposition in recent months, with much of the pro-Western opposition currently in prison.
The protesters told the BBC that artificial intelligence-equipped surveillance cameras had been installed on the main street, so they came prepared – wearing black, gas masks and helmets. Wearing colorful clothes would make them easier to recognize, and in that case they would have to go to prison. One of the protesters referred to the ruling party, sarcastically calling it the Russian Dream, and said: “I want Georgian Dream to go. I want my country back. I want to be able to live peacefully and for my friends who are in jail, illegally imprisoned, to be free.”
The Georgian Dream enjoys support in the regions, while
many residents of large cities believe that the government is acting in Russia’s interests.
After the attempt to occupy the presidential palace, one of the protesters who had left the area around the palace said that there had been no plan to go to the palace. He said it was the hand of radicals who were not part of the protest movement.
Since November 2024, when the government decided to suspend EU accession talks, Tbilisi has seen protests almost every night. Demonstrators are demanding the release of political prisoners and new elections.
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