Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Sunday vowed to arrest opposition figures after police clashed with protesters who tried to storm the presidential palace in what he called an attempted coup during a disputed election.
Saturday's local polls were the ruling populist Georgian Dream party's first electoral test since a disputed parliamentary vote a year ago plunged the Black Sea nation into turmoil and prompted Brussels to effectively freeze the EU-candidate country's accession bid.
The central election commission said Georgian Dream had secured municipal council majorities in every municipality and that its candidates scored landslide wins in mayoral races in all cities.
The normally low-key local elections have acquired high stakes after months of raids on independent media, restrictions on civil society and the jailing of dozens of opponents and activists.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators flooded Tbilisi's Freedom Square after the opposition urged a "last-chance" election-day protest to save democracy.
