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Agence France-Presse

Around 25,000 Georgians protested on Sunday against the election of a ruling party-backed candidate to the presidency and demanded snap parliamentary polls in a move that threatens to complicate the transition of power in the Western-backed nation.
Holding Georgian, EU and US flags, protesters made claims about vote-buying and other irregularities as they packed Rustaveli Avenue in front of parliament in the centre of the capital Tbilisi.

The former pro-West president Mikheil Saakashvili addressed the huge crowd by video link from Amsterdam, where he lives in self-imposed exile.
“Misha! Misha!” chanted supporters as the 50-year-old politician appeared on a big screen.
“Georgia’s future is being born on this square today,” said Saakashvili, who is accused by the authorities of abuse of power. “We will fight peacefully but we will never give up.”

On Wednesday, former French diplomat Salome Zurabishvili was elected the ex-Soviet nation’s first woman president, beating a candidate backed by an alliance led by Saakashvili’s party.
Zurabishvili has said her election was a step forward for women and a move closer to Europe.
Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili detained in Ukraine – until his supporters overpowered police to free him
But opposition leaders including Zurabishvili’s rival Grigol Vashadze have refused to accept the result, claiming there was vote-buying, voter intimidation and ballot-stuffing in the election’s second round.
In the first round, held in October, French-born Zurabishvili failed to take the 50-per cent-plus-one-vote needed to win outright.
Before the second round Vashadze was narrowly leading in opinion polls. However Zurabishvili gained more than 59 per cent on Wednesday, while her rival topped 40 per cent.

The new head of state will be a largely ceremonial figure, but the vote was seen as a trial run for the contest between billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili’s ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition in more important parliamentary polls set for 2020.
Georgian rivals spark viral online spoofs
“Georgia does not have a president now,” Vashadze, a career diplomat, said to roaring applause from the protesters.
He said the results of the “stolen election” should be annulled and snap parliamentary elections held.
Many protesters accused tycoon Ivanishvili, seen by many as the country’s de facto ruler, of stealing people’s votes.

The vote was also seen as a test of Georgia’s democratic credentials as it seeks European Union and Nato membership.
Monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the election was competitive but they also raised concerns about misuse of administrative resources.
Ukraine to deport brother of former Georgian president
Tensions increased ahead of the second round, as the opposition accused the government of voter intimidation and claimed that ruling party activists had attacked Vashadze’s campaign staff.
Zurabishvili in turn said she and her children had received death threats from people affiliated with Saakashvili’s United National Movement.
In what critics derided as “vote-buying” ahead of the election, Ivanishvili promised the government would drastically increase social spending and pledged to spend his own money to write off the bank loans of more than 600,000 people.


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Georgia

Thousands in Georgia declare ‘stolen election’, urge snap polls

Supporters of Georgia’s opposition party at a protest rally in Tbilisi on December 2, 2018. Photo: EPA

Opposition leader and former presidential candidate Grigol Vashadze greets his supporters during a rally near the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia December 2, 2018. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili

Georgian former President Mikheil Saakashvili addresses supporters via a video link during an opposition rally following the recent presidential election in Tbilisi, Georgia December 2, 2018. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili

epa07203497 Supporters of Georgian opposition presidential candidate Grigol Vashadze attend a protest rally in Tbilisi, Georgia, 02 December 2018. According to the country's central election commission results, presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili, backed by the ruling Dream party, was winning the second round of the presidential election against her rival Grigol Vashadze who was nominated by the opposition 'Strength in Unity' party and the 'United National Movement', a former ruling party. The counting of the votes so far reportedly indicate a 59 to 40 percent win of Zurabishvili over Vashadze. Voting took place in the Georgia second round of the presidential election on 28 November. EPA-EFE/ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE

Opposition leader and former presidential candidate Grigol Vashadze addresses his supporters during a rally near the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia December 2, 2018. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili

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Pro-West protestors claim rigging in second round vote in which their candidate lost, despite narrow lead in opinion polls


Pro-West protestors claim rigging in second round vote in which their candidate lost, despite narrow lead in opinion polls.


Thousands in Georgia declare ‘stolen election’, urge snap polls

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Pro-West protestors claim rigging in second round vote in which their candidate lost, despite narrow lead in opinion polls

Pro-West protestors claim rigging in second round vote in which their candidate lost, despite narrow lead in opinion polls