The standoff continues in Georgia. This Tuesday, November 19, the president of the country asked the Constitutional Court to cancel the legislative elections of October 26. Salomé Zourabichvili and the opposition contest the victory of the ruling party in government. The situation also became tense in the streets.
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The president of Georgia, breaking with the government of this small Caucasian country, asked the Constitutional Court on Tuesday to annul the legislative elections won by the ruling party, which the opposition considers rigged, announced her lawyer. “The president filed an appeal before the Constitutional Court to annul the results of the legislative elections of October 26, due to widespread violations of the universal character of the vote and the secrecy of the ballot,” declared Eka Beselia, the lawyer representing before the court the pro-Western president, Salomé Zourabichvili.
In force, the police intervened this Tuesday morning to dislodge the demonstrators who were blocking one of the main streets of Tbilisi and a camp set up near the university. On videos, we see several people unceremoniously taken away by the police. Members of an opposition party were reportedly beaten and arrested.
Contested election
The occupation of the center of Tbilisi began on Saturday after the results of the legislative elections were made official. The victory of the Georgian Dreama party which advocates rapprochement with Russia, has been contested from the start. Massive fraud is being reported and several Western countries are calling for investigations.
The opposition refuses to enter the new Parliament which is due to hold its first session on Monday. The president warned that she would not sign the decree to convene him, but Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that he would ignore it. Tensions also led to the resignation of the pro-Russian leader of Abkhazia, a separatist region of Georgia.
Demonstrators occupied Parliament and an official building to denounce the ratification of an agreement allowing Russian companies to invest in Abkhazia. In exchange for the leader’s departure, the protesters pledged to lift their occupation.