Saturday’s vote will pit an unprecedented alliance of pro-Western opposition forces against the ruling Georgian Dream party, accused by Brussels of shifting towards authoritarianism and derailing EU candidate Tbilisi from its European path.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators, waving EU and Georgian flags and holding banners that read “Georgia chooses the European Union” gathered at Tbilisi’s central Freedom Square after marching towards the venue from five different locations
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Pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili – at loggerheads with the government – joined the rally, which she said “shows that Georgia has already won and will reintegrate with Europe”.
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Analysts have warned of the risk of turmoil if Georgian Dream attempts to hold onto power regardless of the vote’s outcome.
In power since 2012, the party initially pursued a liberal pro-Western policy agenda, but over the last two years has reversed course and been accused of moving closer to Moscow.
Bids for membership of the EU and NATO are enshrined in Georgia’s constitution and supported by some 80 percent of the population, according to multiple opinion polls commissioned by groups including the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute.
What I don’t get is how so many Georgians have turned up repeatedly to protest the moves away from the EU by the government, and yet Georgian Dream still get voted on by so many. Any Georgians around who can provide some context? Yet another instance of rural vs. urban populace?