Georgia risks political turmoil over weekend vote

GEORGIA risks fresh political turmoil this weekend as the ruling party ~ accused by critics of aligning the Black Sea nation with Moscow - faces its first electoral test since a disputed parliamentary poll threw the country into chaos last year.

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A GEORGIAN opposition supporter holds a Georgian flag as she protests against the results of the parliamentary elections.

(AFP)

The usually uneventful local elections set for October 4 have taken on an extra edge with the government's far-reaching crackdown on independent media, opposition parties and civil society.

Those groups have called on supporters to flood the streets on Saturday, hoping to reignite a wave of demonstrations against the ruling Georgian Dream party.

The country has been in a protracted crisis since parliamentary elections last year that opposition groups say were rigged.

Georgian Dream then further inflamed public anger when it suspended Tbilisi’s bid for EU membership and set about arresting and isolating its opponents with police raids, repressive legislation and forceful dispersal of protesters — drawing rebukes from Brussels and Washington.