Police Block Roads Surrounding Parliament Building Amid Protests

Police Block Roads Surrounding Parliament Building Amid Protests

Police have deployed heavy metal barricades to block streets surrounding Georgian parliament in the capital city of Tbilisi to prevent protesters from picketing around the building, as seen in photographs posted to social media

TBILISI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th November, 2019) Police have deployed heavy metal barricades to block streets surrounding Georgian parliament in the capital city of Tbilisi to prevent protesters from picketing around the building, as seen in photographs posted to social media.

The move comes amid activists' insistence to camp outside the legislative headquarters to protest the parliament's failure to adopt an electoral reform.

Earlier this week, Georgian security forces deployed water cannons to disperse protesters who gathered in front of parliament. The Georgian Interior Ministry later confirmed that 28 people were arrested in the process.

The demonstrations began in Georgia earlier this month after lawmakers failed to pass legislative amendments that would have changed the voting system from a mixed to a proportional one in which parties receive seats in parliament proportional to the percentage of votes they win.

The next general election in Georgia is scheduled for October 2020 and is set to take place under the mixed system. The protesters demand a snap vote and the appointment of a transitional government, which the ruling Georgian Dream party has refused to grant.