TBILISI – After 30 hours, pro-EU demonstrators continue to camp out in the streets of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, vowing not to budge until new parliamentary elections are held, with the country’s president -- who backs the protesters -- saying she will file suit in the Constitutional Court to challenge the reported voting results.
At a gathering near Tbilisi State University as midnight closed in on November 18, organizers said the action would continue until at least 8 p.m. the next day. Protesters prepared hot food and drinks and lit fires to keep warm in their makeshift camps.
President Salome Zurabishvili, students, and opposition groups claim the parliamentary elections on October 26 were rigged. Official results showed the Russian-friendly Georgian Dream party won a majority and a fourth term.
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Students Camp Out In Tbilisi As Protests Over Disputed Vote Continue
"Tomorrow morning, I will file a lawsuit in the Constitution Court for violation” of election principles,” Zurabishvili told a told a news conference on November 18, although she acknowledged little hope of success.
"This is not because I believe in the Constitutional Court -- we all know that no institution in this country is independent any longer and we have received evidence of this repeatedly.
"But this should be as a sign that no legal dispute in the country should go uncontested" and that justices should have a chance to openly demonstrate their "conscience," she added.
She reiterated that he did not recognize the elections as legitimate and considered it necessary to hold a new vote -- but only with a new election administration chosen with the help of international partners.
Tbilisi has been rocked by protests since the elections, including on November 17-18, when demonstrators marched through the center of Tbilisi, blocking one of the main avenues, then set up tents and sleeping bags at central sites.
Student groups also issued a manifesto condemning the disputed October 26 elections.
The November 17 manifesto stated that the government's "systematic rigging of elections reveals a gross attempt by the Georgian Dream party to seize control of the state."
The manifesto also cited what it said were attacks on the educational system through "discriminatory and selective decisions in the process of granting" entry to educational institutions and "the imposition of censorship on the part of the teaching."
It was signed by 13 groups, including students from at least 13 Georgian universities.
Georgia's Central Election Commission (CEC) on November 16 validated the results of last month's disputed elections, despite weeks of protests by the opposition and accusations of widespread fraud and Russian interference.
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Georgian Opposition Politician Throws Black Liquid On Electoral Chief To Protest Vote
The ruling Georgian Dream party won 53.93 percent of the vote against 37.79 percent garnered by an opposition alliance, the CEC announced during an unruly session that was briefly interrupted after opposition representative Davit Kirtadze splashed a black liquid on CEC chief Giorgi Kalandarishvili and called him a "dark spot."
SEE ALSO: Black Liquid Splashed On Election Chief As Georgia Validates Disputed Poll ResultsKirtadze's protest was intended to refer to the ink from voters' pens that was visible through the thin paper on the other side of some ballots. The opposition says this compromised confidemtiality in the disputed voting on October 26.
Georgian Dream, in power since 2012, is the only party that recognized the election results, with pro-European President Zurabishvili still refusing to acknowledge the outcome, which she said was heavily influenced by Russia.
SEE ALSO: Edward Lucas: 'Georgia Is Heading In The Direction Of Belarus'Georgia's pro-European opposition has boycotted the new parliament, renouncing its mandates from the October 26 vote, alleging widespread fraud and Russian interference.
EU and other Western officials have expressed serious doubts about the elections and perceived irregularities.
Georgia has been a candidate for EU membership since last year, but the "foreign influence" law and anti-LGBT measures have stalled that effort.
The United States in July announced that it would pause more than $95 million in assistance to the Georgian government, warning it that it was backsliding on democracy.