Huge protest in Tbilisi’s streets

Tens of thousands of people thronged the streets of Georgia’s capital yesterday to show their opposition to president Mikhail Saakashvili in the largest anti-government demonstration in three years.

The protest was seen as a test of public support for the opposition ahead of a parliamentary election in October.

It also was a political coming-out party for organiser Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire businessman. He made his entry into politics in October, announcing that he was forming a political party with the aim of winning the parliamentary vote and assuming the post of prime minister.