Georgia’s parliamentary elections will take place on the constitutionally mandated schedule, and the ruling Georgian Dream party has no plans for an early vote, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said in an interview with Imedi TV.

Salome Zourabichvili, the former pro-European president of Georgia, has said that newly launched criminal cases against opposition leaders are the ruling Georgian Dream party’s response to the European Union’s Enlargement Report, which described Georgia as a “nominal candidate” and urged the government to “urgently reverse their backsliding on democracy,” News.Az reports, citing Georgian media.

Georgia's newly elected parliament opened Monday with opposition lawmakers and the ceremonial president absent, while thousands of protesters gathered outside, accusing the ruling party of election rigging under Russian influence, News.az reports citing The Washington Times.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday accused the “radical wing” of the domestic opposition of actively plotting to artificially create unrest as the country approaches next month’s parliamentary elections.