France, Oct. 6 -- The European Union called on authorities in Georgia to ensure the right to protest, after the government accused opposition movements of trying to launch a coup during controversial elections.

"We urge calm and restraint in the post-election period and call on the authorities to uphold citizens' rights to freedom of assembly and expression," the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said in a joint statement.

Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze vowed opposition arrests Sunday after police used force against protesters who tried to enter the presidential palace in what he termed was a coup bid during the municipal elections.

"We call on every side to refrain from violence,"...