Opposition protests peaked on November 22, the first day of a session of Georgia’s new parliament, whose legitimacy has been called into question. On the same day, opposition leaders led by Saakashvili seized the parliament building with roses in their hands (hence the name of the revolution), interrupted Shevardnadze’s speech and forced him to leave the hall accompanied by bodyguards. The president then declared a state of emergency and called for troops and police in the area of ​​his Tbilisi residence. However, even elite police units refused to support him. On the evening of November 23, St. George’s Day in Georgia, Shevardnadze met with opposition leaders Saakashvili and Zhvania to discuss the situation at a meeting hosted by Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. After the meeting, Shevardnadze announced his resignation. This caused a real euphoria on the streets of Tbilisi. More than 100 thousand protesters celebrated the victory with fireworks and rock concerts.

Nino Burjanadze, the speaker of the Georgian parliament, became acting president until a new round of re-election (re-election in a single multi-member constituency). Meanwhile, the country’s Supreme Court annulled the results of the presidential election. Georgia held new presidential elections on January 4, 2004, in which Saakashvili won the oath of office on January 25 of that year. On March 28, 2004, new parliamentary elections were held, which were won by the “new democrats” supported by Saakashvili.

Many in the Georgian government formed after the Rose Revolution were educated abroad.