In the election on Saturday, a broad alliance of pro-Western parties will oppose the governing party Georgian Dream, which is accused of wanting to draw Georgia closer to Russia and make the country more authoritarian.
The protesters gathered on Sunday afternoon in Freedom Square in central Tbilisi with Georgian and EU flags after marching from five different directions.
The country’s pro-EU president Salome Zurabishvili, who is at odds with the government, also took part in the demonstration. She mentioned her colleague Volodymyr Zelenskyj in her speech and pointed out that the Ukrainians are also working for EU membership.
– You also fight for Georgia. You will win and we will join the European Union together, she said.
Sea of EU flags
One of the protesters was the 20-year-old university student Kote Tsintsandze.
– Georgia’s fate hangs in the balance. These elections will determine whether we can finally break free from the dictatorship of the Georgian Dream. You can see that people here are united when it comes to where we belong – Europe, he told the AFP news agency.
– Look at this sea of EU flags. Where else in Europe are these flags waved with such hope, says 49-year-old nurse Lia Nemsadze.
Could be a power shift
The EU froze relations with Georgia after Georgian Dream introduced a controversial law on foreign influence in the country, copied from a similar law in Russia, despite the country applying for EU membership.
The opinion polls suggest that the opposition parties can get enough votes next Saturday to form a government and remove Georgian Dream from power. But there are fears of unrest if Georgian Dream tries to hold on to power.
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