Kavelashvili is inaugurated as Georgia’s president, complicating its path toward EU

TBILISI, Goergia (AP) — Former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili was formally inaugurated as president of Georgia on Sunday, cementing the ruling party’s grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.

Outgoing pro-Western Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said Sunday morning that she was vacating her residence at the Orbeliani Palace in Tbilisi. She joined the crowd of her supporters that gathered outside the residence, but insisted that she was still the legitimate office holder.

“I will come out of 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 of 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 is made up of members of Parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures.

In his speech Sunday, Kavelashvili promised to be “everyone’s president, regardless of whether they like me or not.” He called for the nation to unite behind him around “shared values, the principles of mutual respect, and the future we should build together.”

Georgian Dream retained control of Parliament in the South Caucasus nation in an Oct. 26 election that the opposition alleges was rigged with Moscow’s help. The party has vowed to continue pushing toward accession in the European Union but also wants to “reset” ties with Russia.

Georgia’s outgoing president and main pro-Western parties have boycotted the post-election parliamentary sessions and demanded a rerun of the ballot.

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 the Russian military presence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow, accusations the ruling party has denied. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

Georgian Dream’s decision last month to suspend talks on their country’s bid to join the EU added to the opposition’s outrage and galvanized protests.

Protesters in front of the parliament building on Sunday held red cards, in reference to Kavelashvili’s career in soccer.

“Because today our president is a footballer, we are showing him a red card. The next step will be sending him off the pitch. The Georgian people will definitely do this, because it was a circus that they have held today in the parliament,” protester Sofia Shamanidi told 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 with 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 Georgian Dream’s support 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 fomenting violence.

“We are not demanding a revolution,” she told The Associated Press. “We are asking for new elections, but in conditions that will ensure that the will of the people will not be misrepresented or stolen again.

Who is the new president?

Georgia’s opposition has mocked Kavelashvili for lacking 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 ticket, and in 2022 co-founded the People’s Power political movement, which was allied with Georgian Dream and 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 interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit critical organizations.

The EU, which granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that the country meets the bloc’s recommendations, put its accession on hold and cut financial support in June following approval of the “foreign influence” law.

How did protests unfold?

Thousands of demonstrators converged on the parliament building every night after the government announced the suspension of EU accession talks on Nov. 28.

Riot police used water cannons and tear gas almost daily to disperse and beat scores of protesters, some of whom threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the capital’s central boulevard. Hundreds were detained and over 100 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, which Georgian Dream denies. The crackdown has drawn strong condemnation from the United States and EU officials.