TBILISI - Lawmakers from Georgia's ruling party opened the first session of parliament on Monday after last month's disputed election, defying protesters outside and a boycott by opposition parties who say the vote was illegitimate.

The new composition of the 150-seat parliament was elected during a disputed parliamentary election held last month, in which the ruling Georgian Dream party won an 89-seat majority, thus securing a fourth term in office.

Opposition parties in Georgia organized a new postelection protest on November 23. Protesters in the capital, Tbilisi, demanded a rerun of controversial parliamentary elections held in late October. Authorities had acknowledged some irregularities and partially revised the results.

Georgia’s ruling party convened parliament for its first session since last month’s election even as opposition lawmakers enforced a boycott and protesters continued street demonstrations over the results.

By Ailis Halligan in Tbilisi Several thousand protesters, led by Georgia’s pro-Western opposition, gathered on Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue on the evening of November 24 to contest the legitimacy of the inaugural session of the new Georgian parliament.