<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TBILISI: Georgia&rsquo;s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Sunday accused the opposition of trying to topple his government and vowed a further crackdown on dissent, hours after the ruling party claimed a landslide win in local elections snubbed by its main rivals. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tens of thousands marched in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on polling day against the government&rsquo;s repressive policies, and what they see as Georgia&rsquo;s steady drift into Moscow&rsquo;s orbit. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kobakhidze&rsquo;s Georgian Dream party late on Saturday claimed victory in every municipality across the South Caucasus country in local elections boycotted by the two main opposition blocs as a sham. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Protests and political unrest have rocked Georgia since the Georgian Dream halted talks on joining the European Union last November, despite the goal being a cherished aspiration for many Georgians that has been enshrined in the country&rsquo;s constitution.&nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This move triggered waves of protests that have been met with mass arrests and police violence. It came after the longtime ruling party declared victory in a parliamentary election, the opposition said was rigged. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rallies, big and small, have continued despite a multipronged crackdown by the government through laws that target demonstrators, rights groups, nongovernmental organizations, and independent media. Critics say some have been modeled on legislation passed in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin has harshly stifled criticism. <h4 style="line-height: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Georgian Dream accuses &#39;foreign agents&#39;</h4><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Riot police used water cannons and tear gas on Saturday to drive protesters out of the presidential palace, after they smashed the gates and attempted to enter the building. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The opposition had painted the latest march as part of a &ldquo;peaceful revolution&rdquo; to restore democratic values, but in a press briefing on Sunday, Kobakhidze cast it as the culmination of months of attempts to overthrow his government. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Georgian officials have repeatedly sought to present the protests as coordinated and funded from abroad, often citing statements from European officials in support of the movement.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kobakhidze referenced this rhetoric on Sunday, as he pledged to &ldquo;completely neutralize foreign agents.&quot;&nbsp; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He also implied that EU officials and diplomats have meddled in Georgian politics by voicing support for the protests. However, he stated that Georgian Dream was prepared for dialogue with Tbilisi&#39;s Western partners. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;I am ready to forget everything, to reset relations, to start from a clean slate. &hellip; We are ready for friendship and relations with everyone,&rdquo; he said. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In an online statement on Sunday, the EU&rsquo;s diplomatic service said the bloc &ldquo;firmly rejects and condemns the disinformation against the EU&rsquo;s role in Georgia.&rdquo; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Five activists, including celebrated opera singer Paata Burchuladze, were detained following Saturday&rsquo;s rally. According to Georgia&rsquo;s Interior Ministry, they were accused of calling for the violent overthrow of the government as well as &ldquo;organizing, leading and participating in group violence.&rdquo; The interior ministry also vowed to find all those who tried to force entry into the presidential palace. <h4 style="line-height: 2; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">EU warns of impact on elections</h4><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Georgians went to the polls on Saturday to elect the mayors of five major cities, including Tbilisi, the heads of over 50 other municipalities, and members of municipal councils. Georgia&rsquo;s two main opposition blocs and several other parties critical of Georgian Dream boycotted the vote. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The statement released Sunday by the EU&rsquo;s diplomatic service said Georgian Dream&rsquo;s repressive policies had &ldquo;drastically reduced the possibility of having competitive elections.&rdquo; It was signed by the bloc&rsquo;s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;We call for the release of all those arbitrarily detained. We urge calm and restraint in the post-election period and call on the authorities to uphold citizens&rsquo; rights to freedom of assembly and expression. A constructive and inclusive dialogue involving all political actors and civil society is essential, and we call on every side to refrain from violence,&rdquo; the statement said. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More than 50 international and local groups were registered to observe the municipal vote. But none of the major international watchdogs that monitored the previous local vote in 2021 &mdash; including delegations from the European Parliament, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and major US nonprofits &mdash; were present this time.

A demonstrator with a Georgian national, EU and other flags walks in front of police line during an opposition rally in the city center of Tbilisi, Georgia, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, boycotting the municipal elections and calling for the release of polit

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Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Sunday accused the opposition of trying to topple his government and vowed a further crackdown on dissent, hours after the ruling party claimed a landslide win in local elections snubbed by its main rivals.

Articles tagged with "Georgia"

Georgia's PM vows crackdown after local election results spark mass protests