Thousands have taken to the streets in Georgia's capital Tbilisi to protest the results of parliamentary elections at the weekend, which the country's pro-Western president and opposition coalition say were rigged after the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party won a majority, contradicting exit polls.
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00:00Thousands of people gather outside the Georgian parliament in capital Tbilisi, protesting
00:08the results of parliamentary elections, claiming the vote was falsified.
00:12The election is totally rigged and it's robbed from Georgian citizens and by Russian dream,
00:24it is not Georgian dream in reality and because of this reason we are here to protect our
00:30rights, our European perspective and equality and democracy.
00:35The country's opposition called on protesters to take to the streets after the incumbent
00:40Georgian Dream Party claimed victory, winning a 54% share of the vote.
00:45The party has been in power since 2012 and has gradually become more authoritarian and
00:50conservative, fostering closer ties with their neighbour to the north, Russia.
01:18The result dramatically defied exit poll predictions and is being officially contested
01:23by the pro-Western opposition, a coalition of four parties determined to restart Georgia's
01:28progress towards EU membership.
01:31They have accused the ruling party of significant election violations, including ballot stuffing
01:37and beating of those who objected.
01:40Those claims echoed by the country's president, who alleged Russian interference and told
01:45protesters to continue defending their voting rights.
02:11Rejecting the results, Zuabishvili met with opposition groups, fearing that the ruling
02:16Georgian Dream Party will move the country even closer to Russia and create a roadblock
02:21in its EU accession process.
02:24Moscow has denied interfering with the elections.
02:40But European election observers noted democratic backsliding in the exercise, identifying evidence
02:45of voter intimidation and a significant imbalance of financial resources.
02:51And the EU has called for a probe into election results.
02:54The EU expects the Georgian Central Election Commission and other relevant authorities
03:01to fulfil their duties, to swiftly, transparently and independently investigate and educate
03:09electoral irregularities and allegations thereof.
03:15A call backed by the US.
03:18Despite all objections, the ruling Georgian Dream Party are adamant they won the vote
03:23fairly.
03:24But the opposition contests that.
03:26They're calling for protests to stay on the streets, setting the stage for more confrontation
03:31over Georgia's future.
03:34Ryan Wu and Rosie Greninja for Taiwan Plus.
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