Police clash with protesters in Georgia over disputed election results

Scuffles broke out in Georgia’s capital as police broke up a camp set up in protest against the disputed results of last month’s parliamentary election.

Police moved in to remove the camp, which blocked a main thoroughfare in the capital, Tbilisi, before dawn on Tuesday. Thousands of people later returned to re-establish the camp.

The round-the-clock protest was spurred by the October 26 election that saw the governing Georgian Dream party remain in power. Opponents say the vote was rigged and suspect neighbouring Russia’s influence. Many Georgians viewed the election as a referendum on the country’s effort to join the European Union.

Several protesters were detained as police moved to disperse the camp, according to The Associated Press news agency. Some demonstrators displayed EU flags.

Up to 1,000 protesters remained at the site, and the crowd swelled to several thousand in the evening. Demonstrators again set up camp in the area.

Elene Khoshtaria, leader of Coalition for Change, which unites several opposition parties, said the demonstrations would continue.

“There was absolutely no reason for dispersal, but it will not stop our resistance. It’s their mistake, their weakness, and they will pay the price for it. We will continue to resist as long as it takes,” she said.

President Salome Zourabichvili, who has rejected the official results, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday at the constitutional court, arguing that two esensial principles guaranteed by the constitution – the secrecy of the vote and its universality – were violated.

Zourabichvili, who holds a mostly ceremonial position, has said Georgia has fallen victim to pressure from Moscow against joining the EU.

Critics have accused Georgian Dream – established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia – of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted towards Moscow.

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

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 percent of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power”.

The legislation is similar to a Russian law used to discredit organisations critical of the government.

The Central Election Commission said Georgian Dream won about 54 percent of the vote. The party’s leaders have rejected opposition claims of fraud.

European election observers said the election took place in a “divisive” atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.