Georgia has experienced daily protests since Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that EU membership talks would be delayed until 2028. Opposition groups allege that the October elections, in which the Georgian Dream party claimed victory, were fraudulent.

On Sunday, Georgian police arrested two opposition leaders during a protest against the ruling Georgian Dream party. Tbilisi has been the site of daily protests since Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that his government would not pursue opening EU membership talks for Georgia before 2028.

According to multiple news agencies, the police detained Nika Melia, the leader of the liberal Akhali party, and former Tbilisi mayor Gigi Ugulava. Russia's Interfax news agency later reported that Melia was released on bail.

Melia described his treatment at the police station, stating that while sitting in handcuffs on a chair, a police officer kicked him.

On Sunday, thousands of people gathered outside a shopping complex north of the Georgian capital, briefly blocking a major road in protest. Georgia's Interior Ministry issued a warning to the protesters, emphasizing that blocking the road was a criminal offense.

The first wave of protests in November resulted in over 400 arrests, according to the Interior Ministry.

In the October elections, Kobakhidze's Georgian Dream claimed victory, but opposition groups have alleged that the elections were rigged.

In December, Mikheil Kavelashvili was sworn in as Georgia's new president, following his election by a 300-person electoral college dominated by the Georgian Dream. Kavelashvili's predecessor, former President Salome Zourabichvili, described his inauguration as fraudulent. Zourabichvili, once a loyalist to Georgian Dream, had become increasingly estranged from the party in recent years.

Georgia also witnessed widespread protests last year following the passage of a law allowing the government to monitor NGOs and the media with greater ease.