By Georgian police detained 16 protesters in central Tbilisi on Tuesday during confrontations with demonstrators contesting last month’s parliamentary election results, escalating tensions in the South Caucasus nation amid claims of electoral fraud.
Video footage captured police officers using force against protesters, including incidents of officers dragging individuals along pavement and deploying pepper spray at close range. According to Interpress news agency, while 16 people were initially detained, three have since been released.
The demonstrations mark the latest in a series of protests following the October 26 election, where the ruling Georgian Dream party secured its fourth consecutive term. The election commission officially confirmed Saturday the party’s victory with 54% of the vote, a result that two U.S. polling organizations commissioned by the opposition have declared statistically impossible.
President Salome Zourabichvili, whose role is largely ceremonial, has filed a Constitutional Court challenge against the results, Interpress reported. The president joins opposition leaders in alleging electoral manipulation.
Leaders from three opposition parties that won parliamentary seats have called for sustained daily protests to prevent the new parliament from convening later this month. A few hundred demonstrators had established an encampment on a main Tbilisi avenue for two consecutive nights before Tuesday’s police intervention.
The interior ministry released a statement urging protesters to vacate the area, citing illegal traffic obstruction, but made no mention of arrests. Coalition for Change, an opposition group, reported several members sustained injuries during the confrontation, while opposition channel Mtavari Arkhi confirmed one of its cameramen was among those detained.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, along with other observer groups, documented violations including ballot-stuffing, voter intimidation, and bribery, though they stopped short of declaring the election entirely fraudulent.
The election has emerged as a crucial moment for Georgia’s 3.7 million citizens, presenting a choice between deeper European integration championed by the pro-Western opposition and the governing party’s approach, which critics characterize as increasingly authoritarian and pro-Russian. Georgian Dream’s opponents argue that its continued rule threatens Georgia’s aspirations for European Union membership.
Russia has strongly denied allegations of interference in the election process.
