Black liquid poured on Georgia's election chief
Georgia's Central Election Commission (CEC) on November 16 validated the results of last month's disputed elections, despite weeks of protests by the opposition and accusations of widespread fraud and Russian interference, RFE/RL's Georgian Service reported.
The Moscow-friendly ruling Georgian Dream party won 53.93 percent of the vote against 37.79 percent garnered by an opposition alliance, the CEC announced during an unruly session that was briefly interrupted after opposition representative Davit Kirtadze splashed a black liquid on CEC chief Giorgi Kalandarishvili and called him a "dark spot."
"Unfortunately, the CEC, under your leadership, your direct involvement, and your unfair decisions, instead of leading the country toward Europe, is moving it towards Russia," Kirtadze told Kalandarishvili after pouring the black liquid on him.
The black liquid was intended to symbolize the black dots that were seen on the back of ballots, which the opposition claims compromised voting secrecy.
Georgian Dream, in power since 2012, is the only party that recognized the election results, with pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili still refusing to acknowledge the outcome, which she said was heavily influenced by Russia.
Georgia's pro-European opposition has boycotted the new parliament, renouncing its mandates from the October 26 vote, alleging widespread fraud and Russian interference.
Representatives of the two main opposition blocs -- the United National Movement (ENM) and the Coalition for Change -- filed an appeal this week with the CEC in a technical move to prevent it from registering the opposition candidates who won seats as lawmakers.
The new parliament is expected to hold its first postelection session by the end of the month, with the makeup of a new government possibly to follow within days.
While the CEC was announcing the validation of the election results, a protest was under way outside the vommission's building. The opposition has been holding large daily protests in Tbilisi since Georgian Dream claimed victory.