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The nation's leader, Irakli Kobakhidze, has announced a broad crackdown on dissent, alleging demonstrators who attempted to storm the presidential palace of seeking to topple his government and pointing the finger at the European Union for interference in the country's affairs.

Kobakhidze leveled these accusations just a day after protesters attempted to breach the presidential palace during municipal polls. Security forces stopped them by using pepper spray and water jets.

"Not a single person will escape accountability. This includes political responsibility," Kobakhidze was quoted as saying.

Officers arrested at least several protesters, including two members of the United National Movement and the vocal artist turned campaigner Paata Burchuladze.

Local media cited the ministry of health as saying that 21 police officers and 6 protesters had been hurt in confrontations in the heart of the capital.

Context of the Political Crisis

The South Caucasus country has been in upheaval since the prime minister's governing Georgian Dream party claimed victory in last year's parliamentary election, which the European-leaning opposition asserts was stolen. Since then, Tbilisi's negotiations on joining the European Union have been halted.

Kobakhidze said that up to seven thousand people participated in Saturday's protest gathering but their "attempt to overthrow the government" had been prevented despite what he described as EU backing.

"A number of people have already been arrested – first and foremost the leaders of the attempted coup," he informed reporters, adding that the country's main opposition force "will be barred from being active in the nation's political scene."

Protest Movement Calls and Government Response

Protest leaders had called for a "peaceful revolution" against GD, which they allege of being aligned with Moscow and authoritarian. The party has been in power since 2012.

Thousands of demonstrators assembled in the center of the city, waving national and European flags, after an extended period of targeted operations on free press, limitations on civil society and the detention of dozens of critics and campaigners.

The prime minister blamed the EU's ambassador to Georgia, Paweł Herczyński, of interference. "You know that certain individuals from overseas have even expressed direct support for all this, for the declared effort to overthrow the legal government," he remarked, adding that Herczyński "holds particular accountability in this context."

"[Herczyński] should come out, dissociate himself and strictly condemn everything that is happening on the streets of Tbilisi," said the prime minister.

EU Position and Continuing Political Tensions

In July, the EU's diplomatic service dismissed what it called "disinformation and unfounded claims" about the EU's alleged role in Georgia.

The pro-European factions have been staging protests since last October, when Georgian Dream secured victory in a parliamentary election that its opponents claim was marred by fraud. The party has denied allegations of electoral manipulation.

The country has the objective of EU accession enshrined in its founding document and has long been one of the most Europe-oriented of the Soviet Union's successor states. Its relations with the Western nations have been strained since Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022.

GD is controlled by its creator, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the wealthiest individual and a ex-leader, and denies it is aligned with Russia. It states it wants to join the EU while maintaining peace with Moscow.