Thousands of Georgians join pro-EU march in Tbilisi ahead of next week's elections

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - TBLISI — Tens of thousands of Georgians have marched through the streets of the capital Tbilisi in a show of support for their country joining the European Union.

The rally comes just a week ahead of parliamentary elections, set to take place on 26 October, which are widely seen as a bellwether to determine if Georgia returns to Russia's orbit or continues on its pro-European path.

"It's the last gathering before the upcoming elections and this is not under any political banner, this is under the banner of the unity for European future of Georgia," said pro-EU protester, Nodar Kharshiladze.

"That's why it is important and that goes on behind the scene when the government is very actively undermining our European future. So, this is our kind of the answer, plus it is our voice to support Europe and of course it is also to show ourselves that that we are many and we are united."

Last year, the EU granted Georgia candidate country status but since then opposition supporters argue that the ruling Georgian Dream party has derailed the country's chances of joining the bloc.

Two recent pieces of legislation in particular raised eyebrows in Brussels.

Earlier this month, Georgia's parliament speaker signed a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ rights bill into law after President Salome Zourabichvili refused to endorse it.

The bill, which has been sharply criticised by human rights and LGBTQ+ groups, includes bans on same-sex marriages, adoptions by same-sex couples and limitations on the depiction of LGBTQ+ couples in the media.

It also bans gender-affirming care and changing gender designations in official documents — a move that activists say disproportionately impacts transgender people and is directly linked to anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in the country.

Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said in a social media post that the legislation was "based on common sense, historical experience and centuries-old Christian, Georgian and European values."

And in May, parliament passed a controversial foreign agent law that requires media organizations and NGOs to register as foreign agents if they receive at least 20% of their funds from abroad, imposing hefty fines on those who fail to comply.

Georgia's governing authorities claim the new measure, which they have dubbed the "transparency law", will curb alleged foreign attempts to sway domestic politics.

However, critics dubbed it the 'Russian law' because they say it mirrors similar legislation adopted by the Kremlin to target, discriminate and ultimately outlaw political opponents.

President Salome Zourabichvili, who is pro-European, has long been at odds with the Georgian Dream party, which proposed both pieces of legislation, and refused to sign both bills into law.

"I want to turn to our partners, Europeans or Americans, and tell them that we will be such a partner and ally as you can't even dream of when we enter Europe,” she said at the Tbilisi rally.

Both laws have been roundly criticised by the European Union, leading to the freezing of Georgia's EU accession process.

Some Georgians fear they are being drawn further into Moscow's orbit after more than three decades of independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Opinion polls show the Georgian Dream remains the country's most popular party, with some pollsters expecting them to take more than 40% of the vote. — Euronews