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Demonstrators gather outside the parliament building to protest against the government in Tbilisi, Georgia on Saturday night.
1 / 2 Photo: Zurab Tsertsvadze/AP/TT
The protests continue after Saturday’s disputed election of a new president in Georgia. In the capital Tbilisi, the city is forced to postpone lighting the Christmas tree outside the parliament.
On Saturday, for the first time, a new president in Georgia was elected by an electoral college in the parliament, instead of through a customary referendum.
The opposition has condemned the election as “illegitimate” and believes that the incumbent president, Salomé Zourabichvili, is still the country’s only legitimate leader.
On Saturday evening, local authorities had planned to light the lights of a large Christmas tree outside the parliament, but Tbilisi’s mayor was forced to postpone the event due to the actions of the “radical opposition”.
Thousands of protesters have gathered outside parliament to protest against the government.
When Zourabichvili appeared before them, she was met with applause.
– I am with you, and you are in my heart, she said to the jubilant crowd while the protesters shouted:
– Long live the President of Georgia!
– In order to achieve peace and justice, new elections are necessary. That is why we are here – calm, quiet and without commotion, Zourabichvili added.
Zourabichvili is very popular among the protesters, and many see her as a beacon for Georgia’s path into the EU. She calls Saturday’s vote “a mockery of democracy”.
For more than two weeks, protesters have been protesting the October election results – which they consider illegitimate. Police have repeatedly fired tear gas and water cannons at the protests and more than 400 protesters have been arrested, according to the Social Justice Centre.