TBILISI (AFP) — Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili resigned Sunday to launch his campaign in snap elections, as tens of thousands of opponents gathered outside parliament for the first demonstration since emergency rule was lifted earlier this month.
The resignation left parliament speaker Nino Burjanadze as interim president. Saakashvili, a pro-Western lawyer who came to power four years ago in the pro-democracy Rose Revolution, is now free to fight for re-election in the January 5 poll.
In a show of force, some 40,000 opposition supporters gathered in their first protest since violent clashes with police on November 7 -- unrest that prompted Saakasvhili to announce emergency rule and move forward presidential elections by almost a year.
The state of emergency was lifted on November 16 after the president came under strong criticism from Western allies.
Opposition leader Levan Berdzenishvili told the crowd that Saakashvili had caved in to pressure and would "never return to power again. There is no place for him in Georgia anymore."
Another prominent opposition figure, Giorgi Khaindrava, said the size of the crowd showed "it is impossible to break Georgian people.... On January 5 the people's victory will be formally acknowledged."
The huge crowd later dispersed peacefully within the time limit agreed with police, an AFP correspondent said.
The violent dispersal by police of an opposition protest on November 7 damaged Saakashvili's standing in the West and undermined chances of bringing his tiny ex-Soviet republic into Western institutions such as the NATO military alliance.
Demonstrations and independent television news broadcasts were banned during the period of emergency rule.
Although those measures are now lifted, the pro-opposition television channel Imedi, which is part-owned by News Corporation magnate Rupert Murdoch, has been suspended indefinitely.
This means the opposition will have a harder time making an impact across this ex-Soviet republic of about five million people before January 5.
One protestor at Sunday's demonstration, Tsitso Tchantoridze, 46, said: "I am here because of November 7, to protest against injustice and closure of Imedi TV. I hate Saakashvili."
The main opposition presidential candidate, Levan Gachechiladze, has said he would annul the post of president and change the constitution to make Georgia a parliamentary republic if he won.
However, Saakashvili is hoping to renew his mandate and his reputation as one of the ex-Soviet Union's leading reformers.
His goal of winning Georgia membership of NATO has brought him into bitter conflict with former ruler Russia and Saakashvili accuses Moscow of having a hand in the recent disturbances.
He promised on Saturday to "hold democratic elections. Every political force will have all opportunities to compete in democratic conditions; media must have all opportunities to work normally within the framework of law."
The ruling National Movement party nominated Saakashvili to run for re-election earlier this week.
"It will be very important 40 days. We will win these elections and January 5 will be the day of a great victory," Saakashvili said.
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