Police in Georgia's capital break up a tent camp set up by protesters demanding a new election
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Police in Georgia's capital early on Tuesday moved in to break up a tent camp that demonstrators set up on a central thoroughfare to protest the results of last month's parliamentary election and demand a new vote.
The Oct. 26 election kept the governing Georgian Dream party in power, but opponents say the vote was rigged. Many Georgians viewed the election as a referendum on the country’s effort to join the European Union. Several large protests have been held since then.
Protesters had set up the tent camp in Tbilisi, the capital, and had vowed to stay around the clock to demand new parliamentary elections. As police moved to disperse it, there were scuffles and several protesters were detained, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene. Some of the demonstrators were displaying European Union flags.
“We, the citizens, are gathered here to protest against rigged elections. We have the right to freedom of assembly, the right to gather, and the right to protest the terrible processes that took place on Oct. 26 and beyond," protester Gigi Chikhladze told the AP after the camp was dispersed.
"The legal ways to challenge the election results have been almost entirely exhausted, without an outcome. We are here to protest, and as you can see, we are being denied that right.”
Elene Khoshtaria, leader of Coalition for Change, which unites several opposition parties, vowed to continue the protests, telling the AP: “There was absolutely no reason for dispersal, but it will not stop our resistance. It’s their mistake, their weakness, and they will pay the price for it. We will continue to resist as long as it takes.”
President Salome Zourabichvili, who has rejected the official results, on Tuesday filed a lawsuit to the Constitutional...