Politics 100 days of protest in Georgia
For 100 days, people in the South Caucasus republic of Georgia have been demonstrating against the course of the ruling Georgian Dream party. They are demanding new elections and the release of imprisoned demonstrators.
07.03.2025, 10:01
SDA
They also want to put the country back on a pro-European course. To mark the 100th day of protest, activists are once again mobilizing via social media to block the central main street Rustaveli Prospekt in the capital Tbilisi in the evening.
The wave of protests began after a disputed parliamentary election in October, when the ruling party was awarded a victory. The opposition did not recognize the result, spoke of electoral fraud and is now boycotting parliament.
At the end of November, mass protests were triggered by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's announcement that possible EU accession talks would be postponed until the end of 2028.
Ruling party pursues increasingly authoritarian course
The ruling party sits in parliament without the elected opposition. Critics accuse it of pursuing an increasingly authoritarian course. It appears to be unimpressed by the protests.
At the beginning of the week, parliament approved the first reading of a new version of a controversial law aimed at restricting alleged foreign influence on civil society.
According to a report commissioned by the Council of Europe, the situation for members of the press did not deteriorate as drastically as in Georgia last year in any member state. Protests led to riots and hundreds of people were arrested.
The opposition accused the police of violence and torture. Several European countries and the USA have therefore imposed sanctions against the political leadership in Tbilisi.
