Tbilisi marchers call for boycott of municipal elections

Opposition parties organized a march in Tbilisi today calling for a boycott of the municipal elections. The march ended at the Georgian Parliament, where protesters blocked traffic for the 234th day in a row.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, protesters in Tbilisi have been holding daily rallies at the Georgian Parliament since November 28, 2024, and have been blocking traffic along Rustaveli Avenue, demanding the release of all arrested supporters of European integration and the appointment of new parliamentary elections.

A protest march in Tbilisi calling for a boycott of the local elections on October 4 was organized by eight opposition parties that refused to participate in the election campaign. According to them, participation only legitimizes the power of the ruling Georgian Dream party.

The opposition is demanding new parliamentary elections, emphasizing that the voting must be free and fair. In their opinion, the results of last year's parliamentary elections were falsified. The main slogan of the rally: "Only free elections!", writes "Novosti Georgia".

The march began at the first building of the Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and headed towards the parliament building. On the way, on Melekishvili Avenue, an incident occurred: the participants of the action got into an altercation with passers-by, who, according to them, insulted the protesters. The situation was resolved after the intervention of the patrol police.

Representatives of opposition political parties, the non-governmental sector, parents of those detained during the protest and ordinary citizens took part in the march.  They also stated that the demands remain unchanged - the appointment of new free parliamentary elections and the release of all those detained during the protest, Interpressnews reported.

Today, on the 234th day of the protests, activists, like every evening, blocked traffic on the avenue Rustaveli, the publication says.

Eight political parties made a joint statement at today's protest rally. "We recognize only free parliamentary elections, which we will definitely achieve with principled and consistent isolation of the regime," Publika quoted the statement.

The parties stated that "a systemic reboot of Georgian politics is necessary." "To this end, we are starting to organize oppositionists in all cities and municipalities of Georgia so that a political struggle breaks out in every city and village," the statement says.

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