EGN NEWS DESK
The unrest adopted a turbulent Thursday night time when police used water cannons, pepper spray and tear gasoline to disperse crowds after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the ruling Georgian Dream party introduced the suspension.
President Salome Zourabichvili joined protesters on Thursday, accusing the federal government of declaring “battle” by itself individuals. The inside ministry mentioned 43 protesters have been detained after Thursday protests.
The authorities’s choice to droop EU membership negotiations got here simply hours after the European Parliament handed a decision on Thursday condemning final month’s election as not “free and truthful” and calling for a rerun underneath worldwide supervision.
In late October, the European Commission delivered a crucial progress report on Georgia’s EU accession, placing the nation’s membership aspirations on ice.
The Oct. 26 election in Georgia sparked controversy as opposition events alleged widespread fraud, rejected their parliamentary mandates, and referred to as for a rerun.
Zourabichvili additionally challenged the ends in the Constitutional Court, however the ruling Georgian Dream party dismissed the enchantment, violating constitutional norms, and proceeded to approve each the parliament and the federal government cupboard.
Despite receiving EU candidate standing final December with reform circumstances, Georgia’s Moscow-aligned authorities has embraced authoritarian measures, together with a Russian-style regulation and anti-LGBTQ+ laws, actions broadly criticized as efforts to derail the nation’s EU accession.
