TBILISI, October 2 – Tbilisi City Hall has rejected a request from Paata Burchuladze, founder of the “Rustaveli Avenue” movement, to install four stages in the city center for a mass rally planned on Election Day, October 4.
In his application submitted on September 29, Burchuladze asked to place stages at four central sites: Freedom Square, in front of Parliament, outside the Opera and Ballet Theater, and at Republic Square. But authorities granted permission for only one stage, citing traffic and public order concerns.
Organizers said the multiple stages were necessary to manage the large crowds they expect, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people from Tbilisi and the regions. City Hall replied that organizers may use just one stage, set up in a way that does not block transport routes or interfere with public facilities. Officials also reminded them of election-day rules, which ban obstructing voters or holding gatherings within 100 meters of polling stations.
Burchuladze, who has described the rally as a “national assembly,” responded by insisting that organizers were “not obliged” to seek permission but had done so anyway. He pledged that the event would be peaceful. “We will not break the law, but we warn you — you must also act within the law,” he said.
Burchuladze has announced that participants will express support by a show of hands to demand the transfer of power. A “technical government” would then be named publicly, with the process completed by 8 p.m.
Analyst Nika Chitadze said multiple stages might have been useful both for coordinating speakers across a large crowd and for forcing police to disperse their forces. “They expect many people. With four stages, coordination could be easier. It could also mean the police would have to spread out instead of concentrating in one place,” he noted.
