Mikhail Kavelaashvili (53), a pro-Russian politician, has been elected as the new president of Georgia. However, political turmoil is inevitable as the incumbent president and anti-government protesters refuse to recognize his election.
According to major foreign media on the 14th (local time), Kavelaashvili was elected president with 224 out of 225 electoral votes in the presidential election held at the parliament in the capital city of Tbilisi. This Georgian presidential election is the first indirect election since the 2017 constitutional amendment establishing a parliamentary system. The electoral college consists of members of parliament and regional representatives. Kavelaashvili ran unopposed in this election.
He is a former professional football player who played as a striker for Manchester City in the English Premier League (EPL) from 1995 to 1997. After playing in Switzerland, he returned to Georgia and was elected as a member of parliament in 2016 under the "Georgian Dream" party. Kavelaashvili is known for his hardline anti-Western stance and conspiracy theories. In a public speech this year, he claimed, "Western intelligence agencies are trying to push Georgia into a war with Russia, which has ruled Georgia for 200 years."
The ruling party "Georgian Dream," which pursues a pro-Russian line, won 89 out of 150 seats in the October general election and declared it would postpone efforts to join the European Union (EU) until 2028.
This sparked public backlash, as EU membership is enshrined as a national goal in the constitution. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered every night for over two weeks outside the parliament building, and the police used water cannons and tear gas to suppress the demonstrations. Ahead of the presidential election, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the parliament in snowfall, playing football and waving red cards to mock Kavelaashvili’s football career.
Salome Zurabishvili, the pro-Western incumbent president, refuses to step down. She claims that Russia interfered in the general election and that the illegally formed parliament through rigged elections has no authority to elect a new president. On the day of the election, she reiterated her refusal to resign on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), stating, "I will remain here because we need legitimate institutions and representatives elected by the people."
In Georgia, the president is a symbolic head of state with command over the military. The actual executive power lies with the prime minister, who is nominated by the parliament and appointed by the president. Kavelaashvili’s inauguration is scheduled for the 29th.
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