Police in Georgia prevent opposition activists from picketing parliament

Georgian police erected steel fences around the parliament and government buildings on Thursday to prevent dozens of opposition activists from picketing the area in a dispute over electoral reform.

The activists have been protesting for two weeks to demand that a planned reform of the election system be implemented now and not delayed until 2024. They say the delay favors the ruling Georgian Dream party.

The protesters had planned to stop lawmakers entering parliament for Thursday’s session, but police erected the barriers overnight and hundreds of officers guarded the site, in the center of the capital Tbilisi.

Protest rally in Tbilisi
Riot police block a street next to the parliament building during an opposition protest in Tbilisi, Georgia. Georgian opposition is calling for extraordinary parliamentary elections to be held in Georgia. EPA-EFE/ZURAB KURTSIKIDZE

Via Reuters

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