Georgian Opposition Protesting General Election Results in Tbilisi

TBILISI (Sputnik) - A massive protest by the Georgian opposition and their supporters started Sunday outside of the country's parliament in Tbilisi, with participants refusing to recognise the results of the recent general election and demanding a new one, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The organisers of Sunday's protest are urging everyone to wear medical masks and keep away from each other if possible. The Shota Rustaveli avenue, located near the parliament, has been closed to traffic over a large number of people there.

Some of the protesters told Sputnik that they had come from the country's remote regions on special buses provided by the United National Movement party, founded by former President Mikhail Saakashvili. They were holding flags of Georgia, the European Union and the United States.

A man wearing a face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, casts his ballot at a polling station during the parliamentary elections in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. The hotly contested election between the Georgian Dream party, created by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili who made his fortune in Russia and has held a strong majority in parliament for eight years, and an alliance around the country's ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, who is in self-imposed exile in Ukraine.

© AP Photo / Shakh Aivazov

Georgia held a general election on 31 October, which resulted in the ruling Georgian Dream party emerged as the winner. Altogether, seven political parties that managed to cross the one-percent threshold became eligible for entering the legislature. Following the announcement of the results, the country's opposition has been organising protests.