Fraud according to "Russian methodology" Thousands protest against election results in Georgia

Thousands of people in Georgia have protested in front of parliament against the result of the disputed election. "The Georgian people will never accept falsified election results," said the leader of the opposition party Akhali, Nika Melia, on Monday.

"An invincible protest movement is rising and will sweep away the regime that stole our votes," he continued. Melia announced daily protests, with the next rally planned for Tuesday.

"We demand new elections, an international investigation into electoral fraud. And we will not give up until our goals are achieved," said Mamuka Khazaradze from the Coalition for Change. At the demonstration in the capital Tbilisi, where Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg spoke with opposition supporters, participants waved flags of Georgia and the EU. There had already been protests against the election results in Tbilisi last week.

Doubts about official results

According to the official results of the Georgian election commission, the pro-Russian ruling party Georgian Dream received the majority of votes. The pro-Western opposition accuses the ruling camp of having "stolen" the election victory. International observers also noted irregularities in the election.

Georgia's pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili spoke of systematic fraud based on "Russian methodology". The Kremlin denied any interference.

The opposition accuses the government of trying to distance Georgia from the EU and bring the former Soviet republic closer to Moscow.