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The nation's leader, Irakli Kobakhidze, has announced a comprehensive crackdown on political opposition, accusing demonstrators who attempted to storm the presidential palace of seeking to topple his administration and blaming the European Union for meddling in the country's affairs.

The prime minister leveled these accusations just a day following demonstrators tried to enter the presidential building during local elections. Riot police halted their advance by employing irritant spray and water cannon.

"Not a single person will avoid accountability. This includes political accountability," the prime minister was reported to state.

Officers detained at least several demonstrators, among them representatives of the largest opposition party and the opera singer turned activist Paata Burchuladze.

Local media cited the health ministry as stating that twenty-one members of the security forces and 6 demonstrators had been injured in clashes in the heart of the capital.

Background of the Political Crisis

The South Caucasus country has been in upheaval since the prime minister's governing GD party claimed victory in the previous year's general election, which the pro-EU opposition claims was rigged. Since then, Georgia's negotiations on joining the bloc have been halted.

The premier said that up to seven thousand people participated in Saturday's opposition rally but their "attempt to topple the constitutional order" had been prevented despite what he called support from the European Union.

"A number of people have already been arrested – first and foremost the organisers of the attempted coup," he informed the press, adding that the primary opposition group "will be barred from operating in Georgian politics."

Protest Movement Appeals and Government Response

Protest leaders had urged a "non-violent uprising" against GD, which they accuse of being pro-Russian and dictatorial. The political group has been in power since 2012.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the center of the capital, displaying national and European flags, after an extended period of Kremlin-style raids on independent media, restrictions on non-governmental groups and the arrest of dozens of critics and campaigners.

The prime minister blamed the EU's ambassador to the country, Paweł Herczyński, of interference. "You know that certain individuals from overseas have even expressed direct support for all this, for the announced attempt to overthrow the constitutional order," he said, noting that Herczyński "bears special responsibility in this context."

"[Herczyński] should speak out, dissociate himself and strongly denounce everything that is occurring on the city's avenues," stated Kobakhidze.

European Union Response and Ongoing Geopolitical Strain

In July, the European External Action Service rejected what it termed "false information and baseless accusations" about the EU's alleged role in the nation.

The pro-European factions have been staging protests since the previous autumn, when GD secured victory in a national vote that its opponents claim was marred by fraud. The ruling group has denied accusations of vote-rigging.

Georgia has the goal of joining the European Union enshrined in its founding document and has long been among the most Europe-oriented of the former Soviet republics. Its relations with the west have been strained since Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022.

Georgian Dream is directed by its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the country's richest man and a ex-leader, and denies it is pro-Moscow. It says it aims to join the EU while maintaining stability with Russia.