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Mass protests broke out in Tbilisi: participants declared the government illegitimate and began storming the presidential palace

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Mass protests broke out in Tbilisi: participants declared the government illegitimate and began storming the presidential palace

Скриншот з відео

Massive protests are taking place in central Tbilisi, coinciding with the day of municipal elections in Georgia. Thousands of citizens have taken to the streets to demand the resignation of the Georgian Dream government and declare it illegitimate.

This is reported byNews Georgia .

A stage has been set up on Freedom Square near the Sakrebulo building, and Rustaveli Avenue and nearby streets have been blocked off. Groups of students, bikers, and emigrants who have returned to Georgia specifically to participate in the action are approaching the protest site in columns.

Participants hold national flags, posters calling for a change of government, and photos of political prisoners — activists, politicians, and journalists arrested after protests that began late last year. The word “revolution” is the most common slogan among them.

Hundreds of cars with protesters arrived in Tbilisi from the regions. The main organizer of the action is opera singer and founder of the public platform “Rustaveli Avenue” Paata Burchuladze, who read the Declaration of the National Assembly from the stage.

It declared a “peaceful transition period” and the beginning of the transfer of power to the people, the resumption of dialogue on Georgia’s accession to the EU, as well as the need to free democratic institutions from the influence of the current government.

“From this moment on, power will be in the hands of the people. We will be together, we will fight to the end, and victory is inevitable,” Burchuladze told reporters.

The organizing committee of the action included opposition politicians – Irakli Nadiradze and Murtaz Zodelava from the United National Movement party, Paata Manjgaladze from the Agmashenebeli Strategy, and Colonel Lasha Beridze, former head of the Georgian mission in Afghanistan.

In parallel with the rally in the city center, the police increased their presence. Special forces were deployed on the territory of the parliament in the morning, and journalists reported communication disruptions in the area of government buildings.

Around 7:00 p.m., some protesters moved towards the presidential residence on Atoneli Street. According to NGnewsgeorgia, several dozen people broke through the fence and tried to storm the palace courtyard. Police used tear gas, after which the demonstrators were pushed back.

The situation on the ground remains tense but under control. Protesters continue to demand the resignation of the government and the transfer of power to the people, declaring that the 2025 elections are a “farce” and a “Russian special operation” to legitimize the current government.

Organizers emphasize that the protest is peaceful and aimed at “peaceful renewal of power” in the country.

Recall that on September 18, over half a million French people took part in nationwide strikes and demonstrations against the government’s new budget draft, which includes austerity measures.

By the way, on September 9, large-scale protests broke out in Nepal after the government banned social media, which quickly escalated into bloody riots. In the capital, Kathmandu, police opened fire on demonstrators, killing more than 20 people and injuring hundreds. Youth are demanding an end to corruption and censorship, while the country’s Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, announced his resignation, which caused a deep political crisis.

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