Official results for the October 26 election showed the ruling Georgian Dream party re-elected with almost 54 per cent of the vote, a result that opposition parties have said was fraudulent.
Observers said the election was marked by violations that could have had an impact on results, though they stopped short of saying the vote was stolen.Â
Police blocked protesters in Tbilisi who gathered to demand new parliamentary elections. (AP PHOTO)
Western countries have said allegations of voter fraud must be investigated.
A traditionally pro-Western country with European Union candidate status, Georgia has since the outbreak of war in Ukraine moved closer to Russia, from which it gained independence in 1991.
Relations with Western countries have soured in 2024, with Georgian Dream pushing through laws against "foreign agents" and LGBTQI rights that the US and EU have described as authoritarian and Russian-inspired.
Opposition parties had vowed to prevent the ruling Georgian Dream party convening a new parliamentary session, and declared they would boycott the new parliament.
Protesters gathered on Sunday night and pitched tents outside the Soviet-built parliament building in a bid to stop Georgian Dream MPs entering the complex.
But on Monday morning, Georgian Dream MPs entered parliament,and opened the new legislative session with no opposition MPs present.
Thousands of protesters outside shouted "Russians" and "slaves" at arriving deputies, and threw eggs at the parliament building.
Among the deputies was Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire ex-prime minister and the ruling party's founder, who is widely regarded as the country's most powerful man.
Protester Eka Demetradze told Reuters on Sunday night that she saw the stakes of the protest as existential for Georgia.
She said: "Our country is on the verge of collapsing so we really want to defend it because we really love our country."
Referring to Ivanishvili, she said: "There is no other way and we will not let the oligarch steal our present and our future as well."
