Spontaneous march: how the elections provoked more protests in Georgia

On the day of the municipal elections in Georgia, mass protests once again broke out. The opposition had announced a "peaceful revolution" in advance, but on a spontaneous impulse, the radicals began storming the presidential palace in Tbilisi, which injured at least 14 people. Opposition representatives claim that 70-80 thousand people took to the streets, and their number will grow. At the same time, experts are confident that the rallies will end in a few days, and the ruling Georgian Dream, which is winning the elections, will withstand the pressure of the European Union. See the Izvestia article about what is happening in the center of Tbilisi and how events will develop.

How the protests began

Mass opposition rallies in Georgia began against the background of local government elections. On October 4, mayors and deputies of municipal bodies were elected here in 64 districts and cities, including in the capital of the country. The current mayor of Tbilisi and candidate from the ruling Georgian Dream party, Kakha Kaladze, retains his post, gaining 71.58% of the vote after processing 99.4% of the voting protocols, according to the CEC.

After the publication of the first data, the Central Election Commission announced that the Georgian Dream was winning in all 64 municipalities. 12 political parties took part in the voting, while some of the opposition boycotted the elections. Instead, its representatives announced a "peaceful revolution" on the day of the vote. To restore order, the authorities had previously deployed security forces from different parts of Tbilisi to the city center.

In the middle of the day, thousands of protesters filled Rustaveli Avenue, gathering outside the parliament building. At 16:00 local time, students of Tbilisi State University began opposition marches. Paata Burchuladze, an opera singer and leader of the Rustaveli Avenue protest movement, spoke at the opening of the rally calling for the seizure of power.

"The People's Assembly declares that power in Georgia belongs to the people, the current government is illegitimate, therefore its representatives must transfer power to the people; the People's Assembly declares a peaceful transition period that will ensure the peaceful taking of power into their own hands," he read out the paragraphs of the declaration.

The protesters blocked traffic on Melikishvili Avenue, unfurling banners with the slogans "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty!" and the national flags of Georgia. The protesters blamed the founder of the Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, in particular, for close ties with Russia.

Soon, the demonstrators switched from words to action and tried to break into the presidential palace in Tbilisi. Several dozen radicals tore down the fence of the residence and even entered the courtyard, using pyrotechnics against law enforcement officers and throwing stones at them. Despite the fact that the special forces who arrived at the scene drove the radicals out of the square near the presidential palace with the help of water cannons, they do not disperse and continue to resist.

The Georgian Interior Ministry reported that 14 people, including several policemen, had already been injured in the clashes. One of the law enforcement officers is in serious condition, Prime Minister Kobakhidze said. He called the attack on the presidential residence a criminal offense and promised to punish the perpetrators.

Will the protests intensify

Opposition representatives are confident that the situation will escalate. The protests will continue because, in their opinion, many people do not believe the results of the elections, Georgy Lomia, secretary of the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia party, told Izvestia.

— About 70-80 thousand people took to the streets in Tbilisi. This is just the beginning, the process will continue. I specifically oppose such methods, but on the other hand, the question arises how to act when the government does not make any concessions," he said.

A coalition government could be the way out, Lomia added.

At the same time, the expert community believes that the protests may come to naught in a few days. Over the past year, a certain protest culture has developed in the center of Tbilisi: speeches with the same slogans and demands, said Sergey Margulis, senior lecturer at the Department of International Politics and Foreign Regional Studies at the ION Presidential Academy, in a conversation with Izvestia. First of all, it is the revision of the results of the parliamentary elections and the release of political prisoners.

— There may be a few more waves of performances, but I don't think it will lead to anything radical. The EU's reaction will be standard: condemnation of the current authorities and further statements that Georgia is following the path of strengthening authoritarianism in a pro-Russian course and moving away from the European path, which, from their point of view, is the genuine choice of the Georgian people. But I don't think the situation will go beyond that," the expert believes.

The European Parliament and the Georgian opposition refused to recognize the results of the parliamentary elections in Georgia last fall in 2024. The Georgian Dream won then. Now the European Union will continue to put pressure on the founder of Ivanishvili's party, calling for new elections and sharing power with the opposition, Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, suggested in a conversation with Izvestia. Prime Minister Kobakhidze has already blamed the EU ambassador for the unrest, accusing him of supporting the overthrow of the constitutional order. It is obvious that the current protests are supported by the European Union, which will claim that democratic principles are being violated in the country, INF program manager Milan Lazovich explained to Izvestia.

"This is an attempt to put pressure on the Georgian Dream to act more in line with EU policy, including with regard to Ukraine and relations with the Russian Federation," the expert believes.

However, the new Georgian leadership, Lazovich clarified, does not accept either external pressure or ideologization, which was characteristic of Tbilisi before, especially after 2008, when the country completely lost Abkhazia and South Ossetia.