Georgian police clash with protesters, ruling party claims victory in local elections

Special police in Georgia used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters outside the presidential palace on Saturday, while the opposition staged a large protest on the day of local elections.

The ruling Georgian Dream party said it had won every municipality across the South Caucasus country of 3,7 million people, in elections boycotted by the two largest opposition blocs.

Shortly before polls closed on Saturday, a group of protesters tried to enter the presidential palace in the capital Tbilisi, a Reuters reporter reported, after opposition leaders called for a "peaceful revolution" against the Georgian Dream party, which they accuse of being pro-Russian and authoritarian.

Protests have been ongoing since last October.

Georgia's pro-Western opposition has been staging protests since October last year, when the Georgian Dream party won parliamentary elections that critics say were rigged. The party has rejected allegations of voter fraud.

Once one of the most pro-Western countries to emerge from the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia has recently cooled relations with the West, especially after the start of Russia's war against Ukraine.

The government froze negotiations on joining the European Union shortly after last year's elections, abruptly halting a long-standing national goal and sparking major protests that continue to this day.

On Saturday, thousands of protesters gathered in the central Freedom Square and Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, waving Georgian and EU flags.

Davit Mzhavanadze, one of the protest participants, said the demonstrations were part of a "deep crisis entirely created by our pro-Russian and authoritarian government."

"I think the protest will continue until the government responds to our demands adequately," he said.

A smaller group of protesters then headed towards the presidential palace and attempted to storm the building, but were repelled by police. Some of them then blocked a nearby street, setting fires and confronting riot police.

Georgian Dream denies pro-Russian accusations

Georgian Dream, widely believed to be controlled by its founder and the country's richest man, former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, rejects claims that it is pro-Russian.

The party claims it wants to join the EU, but while maintaining peace with Russia, its huge neighbor to the north.