In Georgia’s capital, demonstrations continue against the October 26 parliamentary elections, which the country’s pro-Western opposition insist were rigged in favour of the incumbent Georgian Dream party. 

On the evening of November 10, several thousand protesters gathered in Freedom Square in central Tbilisi, calling once again for an international investigation into electoral violations reported on polling day and demanding a fresh round of elections under the supervision of an unbiased, international election committee.

This was the second demonstration in two days, and more are planned for Monday evening.

Unlike those of the past couple of weeks, Sunday’s action was organised via the Facebook page of the Daitove activist group, which has over 200,000 followers, most of them young adults. The platform was set up in the spring of this year to help organise transport and accommodation for those travelling to Tbilisi to join the protests against the Foreign Agent law. 

This is the first significant protest since last month’s vote which has not been coordinated by Georgia’s four major opposition coalitions, who are continuously urging Georgians to take to the streets every day as part of a campaign of “resistance”. 

From Freedom Square, protesters marched north along the river towards Marjanishvili Bridge, bearing Georgian and EU flags. True to Daitove’s call to “paralyse the city”, traffic was blocked on both sides of the Kura, as people swarmed up the embankments, flashing their phone torches and calling to each other across the water. 

Tbilisi police intervened and demanded protesters stop obstructing traffic. According to Daitove activists, the relatively small crowd meant people could be “dispersed” as, according to the authorities, there was no reason for them to be blocking the road.

One Daitove representative, Elijay Glonti, wore a white bandage on his arm with a large black dot in the centre to symbolise the transparent ballot papers used on polling day, which breached voter secrecy. Protesters on the left bank of the Kura also tore down Georgian Dream (GD) election posters which remained pasted on wooden boards by the roadside.

Daitove called for protests to reconvene on the morning of November 11 outside the Presidential Palace, where President Salome Zourabichvili is due to host meetings with a visiting delegation of foreign affairs committee chairs from eight EU countries, including France, Germany and Poland. 

People are also expected to gather from 1pm outside Tbilisi’s City Court, where judgement will be passed on two youngsters who damaged parliament building barriers during the spring protests. 

The weekly Monday night rally on Rustaveli avenue is also due. Opposition leaders have called on Georgians to join them at 7pm outside parliament for a demo entitled “We are Europe”, which will be attended by visiting EU officials. 

“Our European friends have arrived today, let’s show our unity, they will join us,” the opposition posted on the ‘Demand New Elections’ Telegram channel, which currently has around 5,000 followers and is being used to spread the word about upcoming protests.

Additionally, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who has been in Tbilisi for over a week, has urged Georgians to turn out at 7pm on the evening of November 11 to march alongside her in a protest organised by the Caucasus Feminist Anti-War Movement against the COP29 in Azerbaijan, which kicks off today. “Join us as we rally against the wave of authoritarianism and exploitation sweeping through the Caucasus,” Thunberg wrote on X.