The anti -government demonstrators in Georgia are trying to storm the presidential palace

Georgia police used water cannons and peppery gas on Saturday to repel the demonstrators who tried to storm the presidential palace, while the country of the Southern Caucasus held a municipal election boycotted by the main opposition blocks in the middle of a repression of dissent.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in the capital, Tbilissi, to protest against the repressive policies of the conservative governor party, Georgian Dream, whom they consider to be trying to withdraw the country from its democratic aspirations and the orbit of Russia.

They transported Georgian flags and signs supporting membership of the European Union, a darling objective for many which was listed in the constitution of the country.

Georgian Dream interrupted talks to join the block last year, triggering waves of protests that were encountered by mass arrests and police violence. This decision has occurred after the long -standing power party declared the victory during an election that the opposition was faked.

The rallies, large and small, continued despite a repression with several components of the government through laws which target the demonstrators, the rights for the defense of the rights, the non -governmental organizations (NGOs) and the independent media. Critics say that some have been modeled on the legislation adopted in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin hardly stifled dissent.

“We are fighting for our rights, for independence,” the demonstrator Sophe Asatiani told the Associated Press on Saturday. She said she didn’t want to see a return to the Soviet era when Georgia was tried from Moscow.

The organizers of the rally, including the opera singer veteran Paata Burchuladze, called on demonstrators to “bring power in the hands of the people”, channeling generalized frustration with a government which has imprisoned key opposition figures, tried to close critical media and used mass arrest and steep fines against largely peaceful demonstrators.

Some then tried to force entry into the presidential palace of the center of Tbilisi, breaking the door before being driven by the riot police.

The opposition had promised a “peaceful revolution” before the municipal elections on Saturday, boycotted by most of the parties criticizing the Georgian dream. The preliminary data of the country’s central electoral commission underlined a participation rate of less than 30% in the first half of the day.

Giorgi Rukhadze, political analyst in Tbilisi who was one of the demonstrators who walked on Saturday, rejected the vote as a “simulated election”.

“The only way to put (Dream Georgian) out of power peacefully is non-compliance, non-conformity,” he said, arguing that people should join all forms of peaceful demonstrations at their disposal.

Georgian police said on Saturday that the current rally had violated Georgian laws that regulated public assemblies and protest. He did not provide details.

Shortly after the surveys are closed on Saturday evening, the Central Electoral Commission said that the vote had been adopted without major disruption. He added that the results would be announced in a few hours.

More than 50 international and local groups have been registered to observe the municipal vote. But none of the main international surveillance dogs that monitored the previous local vote in 2021 – including delegations from the European Parliament, the security and cooperation organization in Europe and the main American non -profit organizations – were present this time.

The main Georgian NGOs have also chosen not to deploy missions, citing the recent repressive laws of Georgian Dream and a broader deterioration in the political and legal environment.