Former football player Mikhail Kavelashvili was officially sworn in as President of Georgia on Sunday. In doing so, the ruling party consolidated its grip on what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s aspirations for a European Union and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.
Outgoing pro-Western Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said on Sunday morning that she would vacate her residence at the Orbeliani Palace in Tbilisi, but insisted she was still the rightful incumbent.
“I’m going to come out of here, come out to you and be with you. … This presidential residence was a symbol as long as there was a legitimate president here. I bring legitimacy,” Zurabishvili told a crowd of supporters outside the palace.
She called Kavelashvili’s inauguration a “parody.”
Kavelashvili, 53, the only candidate on the ballot, easily won the vote in early December as the Georgian Dream party controls a 300-seat electoral college that replaced direct presidential elections in 2017. It consists of members of parliament, local councils and regional parliaments.
In his speech on 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 to represent “common values, the principles of mutual respect and the future we should build together.”
Georgian Dream retained control of the South Caucasus state’s parliament in an Oct. 26 election that the opposition said was rigged with help from Moscow. The party has promised to continue working towards joining the European Union, but also wants to “reshape” relations with Russia.
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Georgia’s outgoing president and the main pro-Western parties have boycotted post-election parliamentary sessions and called for a repeat vote.
In 2008, Russia fought a brief war with Georgia, which led to Moscow recognizing two breakaway regions as independent and increasing Russian military presence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Critics accused Georgian Dream – founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shady billionaire who made his fortune in Russia – of becoming increasingly authoritarian and turning toward Moscow, a charge the ruling party has rejected. The party has recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on free speech and LGBTQ2 rights.
Georgian Dream’s decision last month to suspend talks on their country’s EU membership application fueled opposition outrage and sparked protests.
Demonstrators in front of the parliament building on Sunday held red cards in reference to Kavelashvili’s career as a footballer.
“Because our president is a football player today, we are showing him a red card. The next step will be to send him off. The Georgian people will definitely do that because it was a circus they held in parliament today,” said protester Sofia Shamanidi The Associated Press.
The outgoing president is calling for new elections
Zourabichvili, 72, was born in France to Georgian parents and had a successful career in the French Foreign Ministry before President Mikheil Saakashvili named her Georgia’s top diplomat in 2004.
Constitutional changes made the presidential job largely ceremonial before Zurabishvili was elected by popular vote in 2018 with Georgian Dream’s support. She voiced sharp criticism of the ruling party, accusing it of pro-Russian policies, and Georgian Dream tried unsuccessfully to impeach her.
Zurabishvili has rejected government claims that the opposition is fomenting violence.
“We are not calling for a revolution,” she said The Associated Press. “We call for new elections, but under conditions that ensure that the will of the people is not misrepresented or stolen again.
Who is the new president?
The Georgian opposition has mocked Kavelashvili for his 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 in 2016 on the “Georgian Dream” candidacy and in 2022 he co-founded the political movement “People’s Power”, which was allied with the “Georgian Dream” and became known for its strong anti-Western rhetoric.
Kavelashvili was one of the authors of a controversial law that requires 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 aimed at discrediting critical organizations.
The EU, which granted candidate candidate status to Georgia in December 2023 on condition that the country meets the bloc’s recommendations, put its accession on hold and cut financial support in June after the passage of the “foreign influence” law.
How did the protests come about?
Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the parliament building every night after the government announced the suspension of EU accession negotiations on November 28.
Riot police used water cannons and tear gas almost daily to disperse and beat dozens of protesters. Some of them threw fireworks at police officers and set up barricades on the capital’s central boulevard. Hundreds were arrested and over 100 were treated for injuries.
Several journalists were beaten by police and media workers accused authorities of using thugs to deter people from attending anti-government rallies, something Georgian Dream denies. The move was strongly condemned by the United States and EU officials.
&Copy 2024 The Canadian Press
