- Tweeter
republish
Thousands of people took to the streets of Tbilisi on Thursday night, 14 November. Some protesters have even pitched tents on the main avenue of the city, determined to stay as long as they will not succeed. Protests at the call of the opposition, after the rejection in Parliament of a reform of the electoral system yet promised for several months.
It was a promise made in June by the powerful leader of the Georgian Dream majority party to put an end to a previous protest movement.
Leader Bidzina Ivanichvili had promised to abolish the mixed voting system for the 2020 legislative elections and to introduce proportional representation, as the current system was deemed too favorable for the ruling party.
But this Thursday, members of the Georgian Dream have defeated the promised reform, angering the opposition parties and civil society immediately down the street. In the process, some parliamentarians members of the Georgian Dream announced that they were leaving the party.
In parallel with the protest on the Rustaveli Avenue, the main artery of the capital, the leaders of most opposition groups held unpublished negotiations. Objective: to form a united front against the Georgian Dream and to obtain the holding of early parliamentary elections.
The consultations between the parties will continue until Sunday, when a large protest action has already been scheduled, with protesters expected from all regions of Georgia.
► See also: Georgia: the independence of the threatened "Rustavi 2" opposition chain