Georgian police crack down on protesters as thousands march on presidential palace
Editor's note: This article was updated with additional comments by Deputy head of Belarus' exiled opposition, Pavel Latushka.
Georgian police cracked down on protesters with water cannons and pepper spray the evening of Oct. 4 as activists attempted to break into the presidential palace in Tbilisi.
The protests coincide with local elections, which have spurred opposition parties to call for mass demonstrations against the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Thousands took to the streets as voting began on Oct. 4, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Georgia Service reported. At around 7 p.m., crowds began marching on the presidential palace.
Some protesters attempted to break through the palace fences, prompting Georgia's Interior Ministry to declare the demonstration illegal and order the crowd dispersed. Police then deployed water cannons and pepper spray against the demonstrators.
The Interior Ministry claimed that 14 officers were injured in clashes with demonstrators, while video footage of the protests also show injuries among protesters, according to RFE/RL.
Some demonstrators have begun erecting barricades near the presidential palace. Others have gathered at Tbilisi's Freedom Square on Rustaveli Avenue, the site of many major protests over the last two years.
Former Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili criticized the attempted break-in and called on protesters to remain peaceful.
"As a legitimate president, I officially reject this and continue to stand with my people peacefully until we achieve new elections," Zourabichvili said.
Zourabichvili has previously led anti-government protests and called on Georgian citizens to demonstrate in support of democratic ideals and free elections.
Last year's parliamentary elections ignited a nationwide protest movement in Georgia, after the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party defeated the pro-European opposition party in a vote marred by allegations of widespread electoral fraud.
Following the vote, the European Commission suspended Georgia's EU accession process, highlighting the growing rift between Tbilisi and the West. Another wave of protests broke out after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze made the decision to postpone Georgia's accession to the EU until 2028.
The Georgian Dream party, now led by Kobakhidze, has faced accusations of democratic backsliding and steering the country closer to the Kremlin.
Deputy head of Belarus' exiled opposition, Pavel Latushka, welcomed the protests as Georgians continued demonstrations.
"Georgians are fighting for freedom, for democracy. For a dignified European future that is being stolen from them. All my support, as I am sure is true of millions of Belarusians, goes to you. As conquer you must, as conquer you shall," he said in a post to X.
Following the 2020 Presidential elections in Belarus, the country's opposition was exiled as incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in what were widely considered sham elections.
Lukashenko, with the help of Russian support, quelled widespread protests in 2020, which broke out in response to the election results.
Russia has been accused of meddling in foreign elections and politics as it aims to solidify its influence.
On Sept. 28, attempts to disrupt Moldova's parliamentary election, viewed as pivotal for the country's political future, were reported by local authorities.
Bomb threats were reported at Moldovan polling stations in Belgium, Italy, Romania, Spain, and the U.S., Moldova’s Foreign Ministry said, in what officials described as "the Russian Federation's assault on the electoral process in the Republic of Moldova."
Abbey Fenbert
