Georgia's newly elected parliament opens first session with opposition boycotting

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — The newly elected Georgian parliament opened its inaugural session on Monday as opposition lawmakers and the country's ceremonial president stayed away and thousands of protesters rallied outside, accusing the ruling party of rigging the vote under Russian influence.

The Oct. 26 election that kept the Georgian Dream party in power was widely seen as a referendum on the country’s effort to join the European Union.

Opposition parties refused to participate in Monday's parliamentary activities, and only 88 Georgian Dream members were in the hall as the 150-seat parliament held its first session.

Nika Melia, leader of Coalition for Changes, vowed that the opposition “will do everything to defeat the so-called government, the self-proclaimed government.”

“This is the fight between people fighting for freedom against people who are trying to entrench the deeply authoritarian regime," he said.

President Salome Zourabichvili, who has rejected the official results and refused to recognize the parliament’s legitimacy, didn’t attend the opening session.

Zourabichvili, who holds the mostly ceremonial position, said on X that the parliament is unconstitutional because of evidence of electoral fraud and her refusal to open the session as required by the constitution. Zourabichvili has filed a lawsuit at the Constitutional Court, arguing that two fundamental principles guaranteed by the constitution — the secrecy of the vote and its universality — were violated.

Several thousand protesters rallied outside the parliament under pouring rain, facing phalanxes of riot police.

“The government has stolen elections from us,” said student Vakho Sebiskveradze. “It’s not only about the elections — this is about stealing the European future from the Georgian people, the Georgian nation, and the Georgian youth.”

The Central Election Commission said Georgian Dream won about 54% of the vote in October. Its leaders have rejected opposition claims of fraud.

European election observers said the election took place in a “divisive” atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

The EU suspended Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely in June after the country’s parliament passed a law requiring organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.

A woman and a girl sit holding a Georgian national flag in front of police blocking the entrance of the Parliament's building during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Protesters gather in front of the Parliament's building during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, in Tbilisi, Georgia, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

A woman gestures standing in front of police blocking the entrance of the Parliament's building during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, in Tbilisi, Georgia, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

A woman holds an EU flag in front of police blocking the entrance of the Parliament's building during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, in Tbilisi, Georgia, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Protesters with a Georgian national flag stand in front of police blocking the entrance of the Parliament's building during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, in Tbilisi, Georgia, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Protesters gather in a street during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, near the Parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Police block a street during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, near the Parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Police block protesters gathered in a street during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, near the Parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

A protester holds a poster as they gather in a street during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, near the Parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

A woman shouts standing in front of police blocking the entrance of the Parliament's building during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — A DHL cargo plane crashed on approach to an airport in Lithuania's capital and skidded into a nearby house Monday morning, killing a Spanish crew member, officials said. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

The head of the country's firefighting service said that the plane skidded a few hundred meters (yards), and photos showed smoke rising from a damaged structure in an area of barren trees.

A surveillance video from a nearby company showed the plane descending normally as it approached the airport, and then exploding into a huge ball of fire behind a building. The moment of impact could not be seen in the video.

Rescue workers sealed off the area, and fragments of the plane in the company’s trademark yellow color could be seen amid wreckage scattered across the crash site.

The cargo aircraft was carrying four people when it crashed at 5:30 a.m. local time. One person, a Spanish citizen, was declared dead and the other three crew members — who were Spanish, German and Lithuanian citizens — were injured, said Ramūnas Matonis, the head of communications for Lithuanian police in an email.

Matonis added that the circumstances of the accident were still being investigated.

“Residential infrastructure around the house was on fire, and the house was slightly damaged, but we managed to evacuate people," said Renatas Požėla, chief of the Fire and Rescue Department.

One eyewitness, who gave her name only as Svaja, ran to a window when a light as bright as a red sun filled her room, and then heard an explosion followed by flashes and black smoke.

“I saw a fireball,” she said. “My first thought is that a world (war) has begun and it’s time to grab the documents and run somewhere to a shelter, to a basement.”

Lithuanian’s public broadcaster LRT, quoting an emergency official, said two people had been taken to the hospital after the crash, and one was pronounced dead.

The person who was killed was a member of the flight crew but not a pilot, officials said. Firefighters freed two pilots from the cockpit, one of whom was more seriously injured, according to the General Commissioner of the Lithuanian Police Arūnas Paulauskas.

Paulauskas told a news conference that the cause of the crash was under investigation. He said officers went to the hospital to interview the crew members.

He added that investigators were considering possible causes including technical failure and human error, and have not ruled out the possibility of a terrorist act.

The Lithuanian airport authority identified the aircraft as a DHL cargo plane arriving from Leipzig, Germany, which is a major freight hub.

Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24, analyzed by the AP, showed the aircraft made a turn to the north of the airport, lining up for landing, before crashing a little more than 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) short of the runway.

The crash happened just before 5:30 a.m. Weather at the airport was around freezing temperature, with clouds before sunrise and winds around 30 kph (18 mph).

DHL Group, headquartered in Bonn, Germany, did not immediately return a call for comment.

The DHL aircraft was operated by Swiftair, a Madrid-based contractor. A representative from the company said it not have any immediate comment.

The Boeing 737 was 31 years old, which is considered by experts to be an older airframe, though that’s not unusual for cargo flights.

This story corrects the title of Renatas Požėla.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Lithuanian emergency personnel prepare to work near the site where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian emergency personnel work by parts of the wreckage of a DHL cargo plane which crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A piece of debris from a DHL cargo plane which crashed into a house is seen near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian police investigators work near the site where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the site where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees and police officers stand near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the site where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Police guard an area near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A smoke rises from the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)