Protesters in Tbilisi stormed the courtyard of Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili, breaking through iron barriers, TV Pirveli reports.
„Special forces used pepper spray against protesters who stormed the courtyard (of the president's residence – ed.)“, the report said.
The administration installed iron barriers at the entrance to the residence after it became known that protesters planned to move from Freedom Square to the residence building.
Additional special forces teams have been mobilized to guard the presidential palace, and security forces have used a water cannon.
The opposition earlier announced that it would organized a “peaceful revolution“ on election day. Security forces from different parts of the Georgian capital were deployed in the city center to maintain order. Representatives of the ruling “Georgian Dream“ party said that the unrest was organized by internal and external forces, but law enforcement agencies would maintain order. The party is confident of a complete victory in all municipalities.
Polling stations in Georgia are closed, reports a RIA Novosti correspondent. On Saturday, local elections were held simultaneously in 64 municipalities and regions of Georgia. The mayors of five self-governing cities - Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Rustavi and Poti - as well as the mayors of 59 municipalities and members of local city assemblies (sakrebulo) are being elected.
Nine candidates competed for the post of mayor of Tbilisi. The leading candidates are Kakha Kaladze, the current mayor from the ruling Georgian Dream party, who has held the position since 2017, and Irakli Kupradze, the joint candidate of the opposition parties Lelo - Strong Georgia and Gakharia for Georgia.
Georgia's Central Election Commission reported that 3,061 polling stations were open across the country, with most of them voting electronically. Polling stations opened at 8:00 a.m. (7:00 a.m. Moscow time) and closed at 8:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. Moscow time). The total number of voters in the municipal elections on October 4 was 3,513,818.
The deputies of Sakrebulo are elected under a mixed system: some are proportional, meaning party lists, and others are majoritarian, through direct voting. The threshold for proportional elections is 4%. To win in the first round, the mayoral candidate must receive more than 50% of the votes, while the majoritarian candidate only needs to receive the most votes.
The first results are expected to be known a few hours after the polls close.