The Associated Press / Protesters gather in front of the Georgian Parliament building during an opposition demonstration against the parliamentary election results in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday.

TBILISI, Georgia — Tens of thousands of Georgians massed outside Parliament Monday evening, demanding the cancellation of weekend parliamentary elections that the president says were rigged with Russian help.

The rally highlighted tensions in the country, which sits between Russia and Turkey and where the ruling Georgian Dream party has become increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. However, the event ended peacefully after several hours and there were no clear plans for further actions.

“You did not lose the elections,” President Salomé Zourabishvili told demonstrators who waved Georgian and European Union flags. “They stole your vote and tried to steal your future, but no one has the right to do that and you won’t let anyone do that!

Zourabichvili, a largely ceremonial president, told the crowd she would defend the country’s path to Europe against the actions of the Georgian Dream.

“We have no alternative and we want nothing else to leave this country to future generations,” she said.

Giorgi Vashadze, leader of the Movement for National Unity coalition, said the opposition would not participate in any negotiations with the government and would push for a new vote under international supervision.

“We will not enter this parliament. We refuse all mandates,” he said. “We are not entering into any negotiations. We will fight until victory and we promise you, we will definitely win together.

Zourabichvili told the crowd “we need to paint a complete picture of how this massive and systematic theft of votes took place,” adding that it was an “unprecedented and planned operation.” advance that stole our votes, our parliament and our constitution.” She did not provide specific details or present evidence of Russian involvement in vote theft.

Protester Natia Chachava, wrapped in the Georgian flag, said protesters “don’t want Russia, we don’t want to go back to Russia or the Soviet Union.”