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Former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili was officially inaugurated as president of Georgia on Sunday, shaking the grip of the ruling party in what the opposition calls a blow to European Union aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.
Outgoing pro-Western Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said on Sunday morning that she would leave her residence at the Orbeliani Palace in Tbilisi, but insisted she was still the legitimate holder of the office.
“I will come from here, come out to you and be with you. … This presidential residence was a symbol as long as there was a president here who was legitimate. I bring legitimacy with me,” Zourabichvili told a crowd supporters outside the palace.
She called Kavelashvili’s inauguration a “parody”.
Kavelashvili, 53, who was the only candidate on the ballot, easily won the vote earlier in December given the Georgian Dream party’s control of a 300-seat electoral college that replaced direct presidential elections in 2017. It consists of members of the parliament , municipal councils and regional legislators.
In his speech Sunday, Kavelashvili promised “to be everyone’s president, regardless of whether they like me or not.” He called on the nation to unite behind him on “shared values, the principles of mutual respect, and the future we must build together.”
Georgian Dream retained control of parliament in the South Caucasus nation in an Oct. 26 election that the opposition claims was rigged with Moscow’s help. The party has vowed to press ahead with admission to the European Union, but also wants to “restore” ties with Russia.
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The outgoing president of Georgia and the main pro-Western parties boycotted the parliamentary sessions after the election and demanded a repeat of the vote.
In 2008, Russia fought a brief war with Georgia, which led to Moscow’s recognition of two breakaway regions as independent, and an increase in Russian military presence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Critics have accused the Georgian Dream – founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shady billionaire who made his fortune in Russia – of becoming increasingly authoritarian and leaning towards Moscow, charges the ruling party has denied. The party has recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to fight freedom of expression and LGBTQ2 rights.
Georgian Dream’s decision last month to suspend talks on its country’s bid to join the EU added to the opposition’s backlash and galvanized protests.
Protesters in front of the parliament building on Sunday had red cards, in reference to Kavelashvili’s football career.
“Since our president is a football player today, we will show him a red card. The next step will be to send him off the field. The Georgian people will definitely do this, because it was a circus that they saw in the parliament today held,” said protester Sofia Shamanidi The Associated Press.
The outgoing president demands new elections
Zourabichvili, 72, was born in France to parents with Georgian roots and had a successful career at the French Foreign Ministry before President Mikheil Saakashvili named her Georgia’s top diplomat in 2004.
Constitutional changes made the president’s job largely ceremonial before Zourabichvili was elected by popular vote with the support of Georgian Dream in 2018. She became sharply critical of the ruling party, accusing it of pro-Russia policies, and Georgian Dream unsuccessfully tried to impeach her.
Zourabichvili has rejected government claims that the opposition was inciting violence.
“We are not demanding a revolution,” she said The Associated Press. “We are asking for new elections, but in conditions that ensure that the will of the people is not wronged or stolen again.
Who is the new president?
Georgia’s opposition has mocked Kavelashvili for the lack of higher education.
He was a striker in the English Premier League for Manchester City and played for several clubs in the Swiss Super League. He was elected to parliament on the Georgian Dream ticket in 2016, and in 2022 he founded the People’s Power political movement, which was associated with Georgian Dream and has become known for its strong anti-Western rhetoric.
Kavelashvili was one of the authors of a controversial law requiring organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power”, similar to a Russian law that’ t is used to discredit critical organizations.
The EU, which granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on the condition that the country complies with the bloc’s recommendations, put its membership on hold and cut financial support in June after the law was approved. foreign influence”.
How did protests develop?
Thousands of protesters converged on the parliament building every night after the government announced the suspension of EU accession talks on 28 November.
Riot police used water cannons and tear gas almost daily to disperse and beat scores of protesters, some of whom threw fireworks at police and built barricades on the capital’s central boulevard. Hundreds were arrested and more than 100 treated for injuries.
Several journalists were beaten by police and media workers who accused authorities of using thugs to dissuade people from attending anti-government rallies, which Georgian Dream denies. The crackdown has drawn strong condemnation from the United States and EU officials.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
