President and opposition boycott first session of Georgia’s new parliament

Georgia’s newly-elected parliament opened its inaugural session on Monday as opposition politicians and the president boycotted it and thousands of protesters, watched by riot police, rallied outside and accused the ruling party of rigging the vote under Russian influence (Zurab Tsertsvadze/AP)

Georgia’s newly-elected parliament opened its inaugural session on Monday as opposition politicians and the president boycotted it and thousands of protesters, watched by riot police, rallied outside and accused the ruling party of rigging the vote under Russian influence.

The October 26 election that kept the Georgian Dream party in power was widely seen as a referendum on the country’s effort to join the European Union.