TBILISI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2020) Leader of Georgia's ruling party Mamuka Bakhtadze says law enforcement officers did not use tear gas during the Sunday opposition protest in the capital, Tbilisi.
"Information on the alleged use of tear gas was deliberately spread. Just because there was no need to, including taking account the principle of proportionality, tear gas was not used, this information is false," the leader of the Georgian Dream party said at a press briefing.
Earlier, a Sputnik correspondent reported that a massive protest of the Georgian opposition and their supporters was held on Sunday outside the country's parliament in Tbilisi. The protesters later marched to the Central Election Commission (CEC) building in the Georgian capital. The demonstrators said they refused to recognize the results of the recent general election and were demanding a new one.
According to a Sputnik correspondent, several demonstrators were injured when Georgian police used a water cannon to break up the crowd on Sunday. Water cannons were used again around midnight on Sunday to disperse the protesters who were refusing to leave.
The Georgian Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that law enforcement officers were justified in their response to the demonstrators, as protesters had tried to storm the CEC building and used brute force in defiance of police orders.
Georgia held a general election on October 31, which resulted in the ruling Georgian Dream party emerging as the winner. The opposition did not recognize the results of the vote and has been calling for a new election.
Opposition leader Nika Melia, who is a member of the former ruling United National Movement (UNM) party, told journalists after the Sunday protest that another mass demonstration was planned for Monday.
