President challenges election results as Georgia cracks down on protesters | Protests News

Police clashed with pro-Western protesters as President Zurabishvili sought to annul the October re-election of the Georgian Dream government, which is accused of increasing authoritarianism and ties to Russia.

Police arrested dozens during a campaign to protest the re-election of the Georgian Dream party in last month’s parliamentary elections.

At least 16 people were arrested on Tuesday when police clashed with protesters at a camp in the center of the capital, Tbilisi. Representatives of President Salome Zurabishvili announced that the pro-Western head of state had launched a legal challenge to the election, which gave the ruling Georgian Dream party a fourth term in power.

Zurabishvili asked the constitutional court to annul the results of the October 26 vote “due to widespread violations of voting worldwide and the secrecy of voting,” according to his lawyer Eka Beselia.

Leaders of three of the four opposition parties that won seats called for daily protests to prevent a new parliamentary session from opening later in November.

Opponents of Georgian Dream say the group is pro-Russian and say the continuation of the law will increase the country’s chances of joining the European Union.

Several hundred protesters pitched tents on a main street in Tbilisi for two nights until they were dispersed on Tuesday morning.

The video shows the police throwing some protesters to the ground and dragging them along the road. Some officers use pepper spray from close range.

Georgian news agency Interpress said 16 people were arrested but three have been released.

The Ministry of Interior said that the protesters blocked the vehicles illegally and urged them to leave the area. It did not mention arrest.

The Coalition for Change, which is one of the four opposition parties, said that a number of its members were arrested and others were injured.

A cameraman for Mtavari Arkhi, an opposition television channel, has also been arrested, the source said.

It is mathematically impossible

The Central Election Commission (CEC) on Saturday officially confirmed the victory of Georgian Dream with 54 percent of the vote, although two American pollsters commissioned by the opposition parties said the results were statistically impossible.

Widely seen as crucial for the country of about 3.7 million people, the election offered a choice between continued European integration under Western opposition or closer ties with Moscow under a ruling party that critics say is increasingly powerful.

Monitoring groups, including the 57-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said violations such as ballot stuffing, voter intimidation and bribery could disrupt the election, but stopped short of saying it was completely rigged.

Due to widespread allegations, Russia has strongly denied any interference in Georgian affairs.