TBILISI, GEORGIA — Amid local elections, protestors enraged at the Georgian government's pro-Russian stance and alleged vote rigging attempted to storm the presidential palace in central Tbilisi on the evening of Oct. 4, but were dispersed by police using pepper spray and water cannons.
The demonstration, which organizers had billed as a day of "peaceful revolution," quickly grew into the largest show of dissent in months.
The ruling Georgian Dream declared victory in every municipality that evening, holding celebrations as protesters clashed with police.
Earlier that day, tens of thousands of protesters filled Tbilisi’s central Rustaveli Avenue and Freedom Square, many draped in EU and Georgian flags.
On Oct. 5 as the dust settled from both the elections and the protest, there was a sense of uncertainty and unease in Tbilisi.
“After yesterday I don’t know what will happen, some are losing hope, some not, but I'm more motivated than before,” Levan, a protester who attended the demonstration on Oct. 4, and has been regularly protesting since November, told the Kyiv Independent.
“For me (last night) was like a check-in to see if people still wanted to protest or if they have accepted defeat.”
A turbulent year
Georgia has been mired in political crisis since disputed parliamentary elections in October 2024.
Georgian Dream claimed victory, but the pro-Western opposition refused to recognize the results, claiming the election was stolen.
The European Commission reported that election day was generally “administered in an orderly manner,” but noted “several procedural inconsistencies” and reports of intimidation and voter pressure. Georgian Dream denied accusations, while opposition parties said they would refuse to join the new parliament.
The following month, Georgian Dream halted talks on Georgia’s bid for EU membership, sparking mass protests across the country.
Daily demonstrations have been held outside parliament ever since, but numbers have dwindled in recent months.
Protesters run the risk of 5,000 lari ($1,840) fines for “blocking the streets” and tens of demonstrators have been jailed.
In early summer, six leaders of opposition parties were also jailed for refusing to take part in a controversial parliamentary investigation into the previous government.
The elections on Oct. 4 were boycotted by most opposition parties, who said taking part would only serve to legitimize Georgian Dream’s rule.
As part of the boycott, opposition figures called on supporters to take to the streets rather than the polls.
According to official results released Oct. 4, Georgian Dream candidates won all cities and municipalities in Georgia, with Kakha Kaladze receiving 77.4% of the vote in Tbilisi, cementing his third term as mayor of the country's capital.
Voter turnout was low, with just 40.93% of voters casting ballots, down from 51.92% in the last local elections in 2021, according to local media.
The CEC reported that the vote had been carried out in an orderly manner, but there were few international observers. The electoral watchdog for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) declined to monitor the vote, blaming a late invitation from Georgian Dream.
Organizers of Saturday’s protest hoped to reignite the protest movement, heralding Oct. 4 as a day of “peaceful overthrowing” of billionaire oligarch and founder of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili.
At the protest, one of the organizers, opera singer and opposition figure Paata Burchuladze, called for the arrest of Georgian Dream ministers, declaring that power belonged to the people.
He then called for male protesters to march to the presidential palace, in a move that came as a shock to many.
Protesters tore down part of the fence outside the presidential palace, before special forces repelled them with pepper spray.
Clashes between a group of demonstrators and police near the presidential palace continued for several hours, leaving six protesters and 21 police hospitalized, according to Georgia’s health ministry.
Georgian political analyst and member of opposition party Droa, Marika Mikiashvili told the Kyiv Independent that the attempt was “surprising.”
“The planning behind October 4 has been extremely secretive and confusing, which both made people confused and anxious, but also intrigued and hopeful,” she said.
Mikiashvili added that it was too early to tell where the failed attempt leaves the opposition but stressed that “endurance and not yielding to the regime have been our key weapons in what is the most persistent resistance to autocracy in contemporary Europe.”
Conspiracies and arrests
Georgia’s former president, Salome Zurabishvili, condemned the attempt to storm the presidential palace on social media.
“This mockery of taking over the presidential palace can only be staged by the regime to discredit the 310 days peaceful protest of the Georgian people,” she said.
In a briefing on Oct. 4, incumbent Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze warned that organizers and participants of Saturday’s events would face severe consequences.
He also blamed foreign intelligence agencies for the night's events and said he expected ambassadors and diplomats to condemn the unrest, according to local media.
Organizers of the protest, including Burchuldaze, were arrested in the early hours of Oct. 5 and Georgia’s interior ministry announced that it had opened several criminal cases.
Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, the deputy Interior Minister said at a press conference that the arrested organisers were detained on charges of calling for the overthrow of the government or attempting to change the constitutional order through violence and organizing, leading and participating in violence. They face up to nine years in prison.
It remains unclear whether protests will intensify in the coming days or whether a harsh government response will mark the start of a new phase in Georgia’s political crisis.
Protester 23-year-old Mariam was committed to continuing to oppose Georgian Dream, but said new tactics were needed.
“We need new strategies, stronger organization, and real courage to make change happen,” she told the Kyiv Independent.
“I want to believe that we’ll find that way, but at this point, I’m more uncertain than hopeful.”