Opposition storms parliament in Georgia

The opposition leader Mikhail Saakashvili and his supporters stormed into the Georgian parliament today, interrupting Eduard Shevardnadze’s speech.

The Georgian leader was taken from the hall by his bodyguards.

“The velvet revolution has taken place in Georgia,” Saakashvili said, as the hall applauded him. “We are against violence.”

Hundreds of opposition activists had stormed the hall in Tbilisi minutes after Shevardnadze convened the newly-elected parliament.

The poverty-stricken ex-Soviet republic had slid into its biggest political crisis in years after the November 2 parliamentary elections, which the opposition and many foreign observers claimed were rigged.

As the bodyguards led Shevardnadze out of the hall, the 75-year-old Georgian leader almost tripped. It was not immediately clear where he was taken.

Saakashvili ordered the pro-government members of parliament to leave the hall, and handed over the speaker’s podium to opposition leader Nino Burdzhanadze.

Earlier today, Shevardnadze said that he was ready for dialogue with the opposition, but “without any ultimatums. Parliament was elected and … parliament should begin work today”.

Both pro and anti-Shevardnadze forces had vowed to avoid bloodshed but also refused to budge from their increasingly intractable positions. Both sides amassed thousands of supporters in the already tense capital. Police, covered in body armour and holding shields, have been posted in front of all the main government buildings.

“We are giving the president one last chance,” said protest leader Mikhail Saakashvili, as he addressed thousands of his supporters on Freedom Square earlier today. “Within one hour, either he comes to the people or the people will come to him.”

The crowd, which has swelled by the minute, carried placards reading, “Georgia without Shevardnadze” and ”Shevardnadze, your century was the 20th. Now it is the 21st.”

Pro-Shevardnadze forces are camped out in front of the parliament, along with heavily armed police but the police gave little resistance as the opposition advanced.

As tension escalated, Shevardnadze appeared to soften his position. He acknowledged that there had been some breaches in the election, which the pro-Shevardnadze party won according to the official results.

“About 8% to 10% of the ballots were invalid,” he said, but added that this should be dealt with in the courts.

Georgia’s top security official, Tedo Dzhaparidze, also acknowledged on Friday that the vote – which independent exit pollers said the opposition appeared to have won – had been tarnished by fraud. He said a new parliament should be considered temporary, until a new vote can be held.

According to final results, the pro-Shevardnadze For a New Georgia bloc came in first with 21.32% of the vote, while the Revival party, which sometimes has been critical of the government but sided with Shevardnadze in the present crisis, finished second with 18.84%.

Saakashvili’s National Movement came in a very close third with 18.08% of the vote, while the Democrats who allied with Saakashvili got 8.8%.

Shevardnadze criticised the opposition for calling for civil disobedience, saying “Is this your country or not? If you have a program, talk as much as you want. Gather 20,000 or 100,000. I also will come to listen, if it is an interesting program.”

Calls for Shevardnadze’s resignation reflect growing popular resentment at the widespread unemployment, poverty and chaos, 12 years after the Soviet Union collapsed.