TBILISI -- A court in the central Georgian city of Gori on November 6 rejected a petition by election monitors calling for the annulment of results in several election precincts in the city where violations of the vote's confidentiality were observed during the October 26 parliamentary election.
The opposition, which has refused to recognize the result, has been staging large protests in Tbilisi after the Moscow-friendly Georgian Dream party, which has been in power for the past 12 years, claimed victory with 54 percent of the vote amid allegations of widespread fraud.
Georgia's pro-European president, Salome Zurabishvili also refused to recognize the validity of the results, alleging massive fraud and Russian interference.
SEE ALSO: The Russian Tail: How Data Could Reveal Georgian Election FraudA coalition of monitoring organizations known as My Voice has said its observers from 1,131 precincts said there were more than 900 cases of violations of election procedures.
My Voice filed a petition in the Gori court against the Central Election Commission (TsSK) calling for the annulment of results in 14 of the city's precincts where violations had been documented.
But presiding judge Nino Gogatishvili refused to accept the petition after five hours of hearings, prompting representatives of My Voice to say they will appeal the decision in the Appeals Court.
On November 5, the opposition staged a third day of protests with hundreds of people gathering outside the Appeals Court, which is due to review two rulings -- the one in Gori and another one in the city of Tetritskaro regarding irregularities during the October 26 vote.
SEE ALSO: Georgian Opposition Stages Rally Outside Court Of AppealProtesters then marched through the Georgian capital, where traffic came to a standstill in parts of the city.
In Tetritskaro, Judge Vladimir Kuchua ruled in favor of the complaint filed by a civic group called the Young Lawyers' Association, deciding to annul the result at 30 polling stations based on evidence presented by the group.
The TsSK challenged his decision, declaring them unfounded, prompting the opposition in turn to challenge the commission's ruling at the Appeals Court.
Kuchua has been hailed by the opposition as a rare, courageous magistrate to go against Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012.
One of the leaders of the Coalition for Change opposition bloc, Zurab Japaridze, told RFE/RL that Kuchua was a "decent person."
Dozens of people were gathering outside the Appeals Court bulding in Tbilisi at noon on November 6 ahead of deliberations on the cases. But representatives of the opposition parties were not allowed inside the building, prompting Zurabishvili to protest on X.
"The Tbilisi Appeals Court has denied political parties their right to enter the chamber where the election frauds are judged !!!! That is justice as the « Georgian dream » sees and practices it…" Zurabishvili said.
Nika Melia, one of the leaders of Coalition for Change, has said demonstrations will continue for new elections.
"In the coming days and weeks, our task is to fill Tbilisi with people. All major squares, streets, avenues should be full of people," Melia said.
Another opposition group, the Girchi Party, has also joined the call for fresh elections, arguing that the confidentiality of the vote had been violated on October 26.
The party, which did not pass the 5 percent threshold needed to enter parliament, has scheduled a rally outside the parliament building for November 9 and urged the TsSK to call new elections within one week. It has also appealed to Georgia's Western partners not to recognize the results of the vote.