Thousands of Georgian protesters have formed a human chain in the capital Tbilisi ahead of a political showdown as the new president prepares to be sworn in.
The inauguration of a new president – former Manchester City footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili, who is seen as an ally of the ruling Georgian Dream party – is due to take office on Sunday.
But current head of state Salome Zurabishvili refuses to resign and describes his election as illegitimate.
Georgian Dream, which has been in power for 12 years, won parliamentary elections in October, but the victory was marred by allegations of fraud and protests have erupted since then.
The four largest opposition groups rejected Kavelashvili and boycotted parliament.
It is still unclear how the standoff will be resolved.
Demonstrators waving Georgian and EU flags formed a kilometer-long human chain on Saturday.
“I am on the streets with my whole family trying to somehow free this small country from the clutches of the Russian Empire,” one protester told the Associated Press.
Georgian Dream has become increasingly authoritarian in recent years, passing Russian-style laws targeting media and non-governmental groups that receive foreign funding, as well as the LGBT community.
After the all-out invasion of Ukraine, it refused to join Western sanctions against Russia and described the West as a “global war party,” ridiculing its stated goal of joining the EU and NATO.
An overwhelming majority of Georgians support the country’s path to the EU and it is part of the constitution.
But in November, the country’s ruling party said the government would not begin EU accession negotiations until 2028.
The announcement sparked days of protests, with riot police using tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators, who fought back by throwing fireworks and rocks.
The USA this week Sanctions imposed about Georgia’s former Prime Minister and billionaire founder of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Georgia is a parliamentary democracy where the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of parliament.
Current President Zurabishvili has described Kavelashvili’s election – which took place in an electoral college in which he was the only candidate – as a farce.
When Zurabishvili became president in 2018, she was supported by Georgian Dream, but she has since condemned their contested election victory at the end of October as a “Russian special operation” and supported nightly pro-EU protests outside parliament.
Zurabishvili vowed on Sunday not to resign.
The government says if she refuses to leave office she is committing a crime.
