Protesters gathered on September 9 in the Georgian capital a day after supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream party attacked protesters participating in ongoing demonstrations over a government decision to halt European Union membership talks.
Georgian Dream supporters pelted the demonstrators with bottles and rocks on September 8 in front of the campaign headquarters of Mayor Kakha Kaladze, who is running for reelection in local elections on October 4.
Demonstrators rallied again in front of the Georgian Dream politician’s campaign headquarters on September 9, this time without incident.
Georgia has been thrown into turmoil since parliamentary elections in October 2024 in which Georgian Dream secured 54 percent of the vote. The opposition and Western governments argued that the poll was marred by violations and Russian influence.
Opposition activists have been holding daily demonstrations since the elections. More protests followed the election after the Georgian Dream party’s decision to stop accession talks with the European Union.
Tensions were high on September 9 after at least 10 people, including journalists, reportedly were injured the day before. No arrests were made, according to police, but authorities launched a criminal investigation over damage to the mayor’s campaign posters.
During the protest on September 9, yogurt reportedly was poured over an election banner near Kaladze’s campaign headquarters and an inscription on one of the banners reportedly was erased and replaced with the words Russian Dream.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement after the September 8 rally that law enforcement officers took appropriate measures to defuse the situation and prevent further escalation of the conflict.
Demonstrators, however, complained that police failed to take action during attacks started by party supporters.
“What did the participants of the protest yesterday do that endangered the work of the headquarters?” wrote former Deputy Ombudsman Giorgi Burjanadze.
“People were organizing the protest and were attacked. It is shameful and shameful to write about this. Did any employee document the disruption of the headquarters’ activities?” he added.
Last week, one of the leaders of the party’s youth wing was filmed spitting in the faces of several activists and a journalist, while a verbal altercation took place between a former Georgian Dream MP and protesters.
Protests launched since the decision on EU membership have been met with accusations of police using excessive force and even torture.
Despite the continued protests, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has refused to back down and has threatened to punish political opponents, whom he accuses of being behind violence that has occurred at the protests.
A majority of Georgians support EU membership, and efforts to join the bloc are mandated by the Georgian Constitution.
Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023 but relations with Brussels have soured in recent months, beginning with the adoption of a Russian-style “foreign agent” law, which critics say threatens media outlets and civil society groups.
