Political situation in Georgia

The Prime Minister threatens to punish the opposition

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobachidze is threatening to punish his political opponents, accusing them of being behind mass protests in the capital Tbilisi in recent days. AFP writes.

- Opposition politicians who orchestrated the violence in recent days while hiding in their offices will not escape responsibility, says Kobachidze at a press conference and at the same time threatens to punish officials who participate in the protests.

The demonstrators are protesting that the prime minister, who is the leader of the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party, stopped the negotiations on EU rapprochement by 2028. They also want the elections last autumn to be redone.

Earlier on Tuesday, Georgia's Supreme Court rejected a request by the country's president and opposition parties to annul the election results.

Court rules: The election will not be redone

Georgia's Supreme Court rejects the opposition's request to annul the election results from last fall, writes AFP.

The announcement fuels the already tense situation in the country's capital, Tbilisi, where massive protests have taken place several days in a row.

The court's decision means that the election result, in which pro-Russian Georgian Dream received 54 percent of the vote, stands firm. The opposition believes that the election was surrounded by fraud.

- The attempt to organize the Maidan in Georgia is already over. I would like to urge everyone to remain calm, says the country's prime minister and the leader of the Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobachidze.

With Maidan, Kobachidze refers to the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine in 2013–2014.

Dozens injured after protests in Georgia

At least 26 people have been injured in the last day's protests in Tbilisi. According to Georgian health authorities, 23 of the injured are protesters, the other three belong to the police, writes AFP.

Monday was the fifth night in a row of large protests in the Georgian capital. Police have used tear gas and water cannons while protesters have thrown stones and set off fireworks.

The demonstrators demand that the autumn elections be redone and protest that the government has paused all talks about EU membership until 2028.