Photo Story | Overnight Protest Amid the First Session of New Parliament

An all-night protest was held in front of the Parliament building on 24 and 25 November. The rally, announced by opposition leaders, was to protest and disrupt the convening of the first session of Parliament. The demonstrators first gathered in Republic Square, from where they marched to the parliament building. Large numbers of riot police were already mobilized on Rustaveli Avenue. Large numbers of riot police were already mobilized on Rustaveli Avenue. Citizens set up tents in anticipation of the early morning session of the 11th convocation of the parliament.

The first session of the 11th Convocation of the Georgian Parliament began at noon. Citizens who stayed up all night in protest were still in front of the legislative building. Police, including riot units, were also mobilized near the building. Out of 89 Georgian Dream MPs, 88 were present in the Parliament, one was absent due to health problems. The opposition parties did not enter the parliament, as they don’t recognize it as legitimate. Ambassadors were not invited to attend the opening session. Within an hour, the Parliament approved the credentials of all 150 members, thus officially declaring its legislative powers.

President Salome Zurabishvili, who does not recognize the elections, refused to convene the first session of Parliament, but the GD-majority decided to hold the first session anyway. Salome Zurabishvili has also challenged the election results in the country’s Constitutional Court, which legal experts say should have prevented a new Parliament from recognizing its authority and the credentials of all 150 MPs. They say the Constitutional Court complaint challenges the legality of the election of all the MPs, and until the court rules, the parliament has no right to recognize their credentials.

Civil.ge‘s Guram Muradov captured moments from the protest:

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This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)