Georgian police break up anti-government protests

Tents were dismantled and people arrested on Tuesday morning in the Georgian capital, Tbsili, as police broke up government demonstrations that have been underway since Sunday.

Georgian citizens are demanding fresh parliamentary elections after a vote in October that many inside and outside the country said was severely compromised by Kremlin interference.

The election saw the country’s populist pro-Russian Georgian Dream party retaining power, ostensibly winning just under 54% of the popular vote.

Georgian Dream party leaders have rejected opposition claims of electoral fraud, but European election observers said the election took place in a “divisive” atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

The party’s billionaire founder, Bidzina Ivanishvil, made his fortune in Russia, and critics have accused him of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow.

Several large protests have been held since the election, which many Georgians viewed as a referendum on the country’s ongoing effort to join the EU.

Pro-European President Salome Zourabichvili, who has rejected the official results, declared on Monday that she would appeal the vote results to the Constitutional Court.

Zourabichvili, who holds a mostly ceremonial position, has said Georgia has fallen victim to pressure from Moscow, which takes a hard line against post-Soviet countries joining the EU.

The EU suspended Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely in June after the country’s parliament passed a law requiring organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power”, similar to a Russian law used to discredit and curtail organisations critical of the government.

The party has also pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

Video editor • Rory Elliott Armstrong