In Georgia, tens of thousands of people are expressing their support for the country’s path to the EU at a rally

Tens of thousands of people took part in a rally in Georgia on Sunday to support the move towards the European Union (EU) ahead of parliamentary elections, which will be a major test for the country’s democracy and the path to EU.

In the upcoming elections on Saturday, a unique alliance of Western opposition forces will face the ruling “Georgian Dream” party, which Brussels accuses of increasingly authoritarian behavior and departure from the way to the EU.

Tens of thousands of people gathered with EU and Georgian flags, as well as “Georgia chooses the European Union” placards, in the center of Tbilisi’s Freedom Square.

The crowd was joined by pro-Western Salome Zurabishvili, who said the rally “shows that Georgia has already won and will go again to Europe”.

She also spoke to the president of Ukraine, another EU candidate country, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, saying that Ukraine in the war against Russia is “also fighting for Georgia. You win and we go into the European Union together”.

The rally was organized by various non-governmental organizations in Georgia and was invited to take to the streets on Sunday to “choose unity, development and the European Union”.

Parliamentary elections will be held in Georgia on October 26, where the ruling party “Georgian Dream” will compete with the anti-Western opposition.

The ruling party, controlled by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, wants a majority in parliament.

At first, when it came to power in 2012, the “Georgian Dream” party implemented a pro-Western liberal policy, but in the last two years it has strengthened its hostile position against the West and liberals .

Brussels has warned Georgia again that they are moving away from their stated intention to join the EU. This year, Brussels scrapped the accession process after the “Georgian Dream”-led parliament passed a controversial “foreign influence law” that allows it to target civil society.

Opinion polls suggest the opposition could win enough votes to form a coalition government, while analysts warn the current ruling party could try to hold on to power. ‘ regardless of the election result.