Clashes in Tbilisi as local polls unfold, ruling party claims victory

Thousands of antigovernment demonstrators clashed with police in central Tbilisi on Saturday as Georgians voted in local elections that the ruling Georgian Dream party said it had won decisively. The confrontations, centered outside the presidential palace and along Rustaveli Avenue, came as opposition leaders had urged supporters to turn out for protests and some parties had called for a boycott of the ballot.

Police used water cannon, tear gas, pepper spray and armoured vehicles to push back crowds after a group of masked protesters tried to breach security barriers near the palace, authorities said. Demonstrators set fire to chairs and other objects and blocked traffic on major streets, many waving Georgian, European Union and Ukrainian flags. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze warned organisers that plans for a revolution would fail and said those involved could be arrested. Georgian Dream officials said early projections showed the party leading across municipalities and declared victory nationwide.

The unrest capped almost a year of sustained protests that began after last year’s parliamentary election, when opposition parties alleged fraud, and after the government...