The ruling party of Georgia is due to become president on Saturday in a controversial election process, in a deeper constitutional crisis and weeks of mass protests against the EU.
The nation of the Sea of Pontus has been troubled since the party led by Georgian Dream claimed victory in the contested parliamentary elections.
The Council of the European Union is talking about delaying a month away to gather the fired members of the communication new waves of masses.
The opposition denounced Saturday’s election as “illegitimate” and said the sitting president, Salome Zourabichvili, remains the only legitimate leader of the country.
Pro-Western Zourabishvili — who is at odds with Georgian Dream — has refused to step down and is calling for new parliamentary elections, paving the way for a constitutional showdown.
On Saturday morning, protesters began to gather outside the parliament building, which was surrounded by police forces.
The electoral college was controlled by the Georgian Dream and boycotted by the opposition in parliament to establish it former footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili as president
Demonstrators shared tea to warm up on a cold morning, with a water cannon placed nearby, an AFP reporter testified.
“Georgia never loses its sense of humor, celebrating the election of its president,” Zurabishvili wrote on social media.
He shared a video footage of football performances in the snow – clearly shot by Kavelashvili.
One of the protesters, 40-year-old Natia Apkhazava, said she had come early “to protect our European future”.
“our” [parliamentary] conduct flagship elections. We need a new election,” he said.
“We have been fighting here for 16 days … and we will keep fighting for our European future.”
Protests are scheduled to take place at twelve locations in Tbilisi.
Thousands of pro-EU demonstrators filled the streets of the capital Tbilisi on Friday, before meeting outside parliament for the 16th consecutive day.
A former diplomat, Zourabishvili is a hugely popular figure among protesters, who see her as a beacon of Georgia’s European aspirations.
“What will happen tomorrow in parliament is a travesty. The result will be completely delegitimized, unconstitutional and illegitimate,” Zourabishvili told a press conference on Friday.
Opposition groups accuse Georgian Dream of rigging the October 26 parliamentary vote, undermining democracy and moving Russia closer to Tbilisi – all at the expense of the constitution of their Caucasus nation’s mandated efforts to join the EU.
Kavelashvili, 53 — the only candidate for the ceremonial majority — is known for his fierce anti-Western diatribes and opposition to LGBTQ rights.
The Georgian Dream read direct presidential elections in 2017.
With Zourabishvili refusing to leave office, with opposition lawmakers boycotting parliament and protests showing no signs of abating, Kavelashvili’s presidency is likely to be undermined by the attack.
One author of Georgia’s constitution, Vakhtang Khmaladze, argued that all decisions made by the new parliament were void.
The reason for this matter was rejected because he explained the mandates of the newly elected legislators before the outcome of the judicial case filed against the incumbent president to contest the elections.
“Georgia is facing an unprecedented constitutional crisis,” Khmaladze said.
It is left uncertain how the government should react to Zourabishvili’s refusal after his successor is inaugurated on December 29.
Police fired teargas and water cannons during more than two weeks of demonstrations and arrested more than 400 protesters, according to the Center for Social Justice NGO.
On Friday, Amnesty International said the protesters were “a war waged with torture, arbitrary detentions and torture”.
There were also raids on the offices of the opposition parties, and the arrests of their leaders.
As international condemnation of the police crackdown mounted, French President Emmanuel Macron told his fellow Georgians “we must not extinguish the European Dream”.
“We are with you in supporting your European and democratic votes,” he said in a video email.
Earlier this week, Macron called the founder of the Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili – a tycoon widely believed to be Georgia’s real power broker.
His decision to call Ivanishvili – rather than Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze – is indicative of the West’s slowness to recognize the legitimacy of the new leadership of the Georgian Dream.
Washington also imposed new sanctions on Georgian officials, banning the visas of about 20 people accused of “subverting democracy in Georgia”, including ministers and parliamentarians.