Since 2012, Georgia has been ruled by the Georgian Dream party, which, according to critics, tried to take the country away from the EU and bring it closer to Russia.
The party claimed victory in last month’s election, but opposition MPs are boycotting the new parliament, accusing it of fraud.
On Thursday, the European Parliament supported a permission, externaldescribing the election as the latest stage in Georgia’s “worsening democratic crisis” and saying the ruling party bears “full responsibility.”
She expressed particular concern about reports of voter intimidation, vote bribery and manipulation, as well as harassment of observers.
After the resolution, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kabakhidze said that his government “decided not to put the issue of joining the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028.”
In response, on Thursday, thousands of pro-European protesters began demonstrating outside the Georgian Dream offices in the cities of Tbilisi and Kutaisi.
A group of public figures, writers and journalists also protested outside the country’s public broadcaster in the capital, Tbilisi, accusing it of being a mouthpiece for the country’s ruling party.
“The public broadcaster must be freed from the influence of the Russians and the pressure of the regime,” said writer and activist Lasha Bugadze.
“The public broadcaster covers all of Georgia, and they are brainwashing our population with propaganda, people who may not know what’s going on,” he said.
