Individuals attend a rally forward of Georgian President-elect Mikheil Kavelashvili’s inauguration in Tbilisi on December, 29, 2024. The far-right former footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili was sworn in at a parliamentary ceremony moments after outgoing president Salome Zurabishvili stated she was the “solely reliable president” and vowed to struggle on in opposition to the Georgian Dream occasion that controls parliament. (Photograph by Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE / AFP) (Photograph by GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE/AFP through Getty Photographs)
Giorgi Arjevanidze | Afp | Getty Photographs
Mikheil Kavelashvili, a hardline critic of the West, was sworn in as president of Georgia on Sunday amid a political disaster after the federal government froze European Union utility talks in a transfer that sparked main protests.
Outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU opponent of the ruling occasion, stated in a defiant speech to supporters exterior the presidential palace that she was leaving the residence, however that Kavelashvili had no legitimacy as president, which is a principally ceremonial place.
She stated: “I’ll come out of right here and be with you”.
“I’m taking legitimacy with me, I’m taking the flag with me, I’m taking your belief with me,” she added, earlier than strolling out of the palace to mingle together with her supporters.
Zourabichvili says that Kavelashvili was not duly picked, because the lawmakers who selected him have been elected in an October parliamentary election that she says was marked by fraud. Georgia’s opposition events help her.
The Georgian Dream ruling occasion and the nation’s election fee say that the October election was free and truthful. The ruling occasion says Kavelashvili is the duly elected president.
The presidential standoff is seen as a watershed second in Georgia, a mountainous nation of three.7 million that had till not too long ago been thought to be among the many most democratic and pro-Western of the previous Soviet states.
Kavelashvili is a loyalist of Bidzina Ivanishvili, a reclusive billionaire ex-prime minister who’s extensively seen as Georgia’s de facto chief.
On Friday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Ivanishvili, saying he was spearheading Georgia’s present anti-Western and pro-Russian flip.
Protestors maintain up crimson playing cards
Kavelashvili, a former skilled soccer participant who briefly performed as a striker for Manchester Metropolis, has repeatedly accused Western intelligence companies of plotting to drive Georgia into warfare with neighbouring Russia.
“The Georgian individuals have at all times understood that peace is the principle prerequisite for survival and improvement,” he stated after being sworn in on Sunday.
Protesters exterior parliament held up crimson playing cards in a mocking reference to Kavelashvili’s athletic profession.
Georgian Dream bought nearly 54% of the official vote in October’s election.
Native and worldwide election displays have stated the vote was marked by violations that might have affected the outcomes. Western international locations have known as for an investigation.
Mikheil Kavelashvili, elected by lawmakers as Georgia’s new President, takes the oath throughout his swearing-in ceremony on the parliament in Tbilisi, on December 29, 2024. The far-right former footballer was sworn in at a parliamentary ceremony moments after outgoing president Salome Zurabishvili stated she was the “solely reliable president” and vowed to struggle on in opposition to the Georgian Dream occasion that controls parliament. (Photograph by Irakli Gedenidze / POOL / AFP) (Photograph by IRAKLI GEDENIDZE/POOL/AFP through Getty Photographs)
Irakli Gedenidze | Afp | Getty Photographs
Zourabichvili is backed by the nation’s 4 most important pro-EU opposition events, which have boycotted parliament because the election. They are saying she’s going to stay the reliable president till contemporary elections are held.
The confrontation comes amid a month of protests sparked by Georgian Dream’s suspension of EU accession talks till 2028, abruptly halting a longstanding nationwide objective of becoming a member of the bloc that’s written into the nation’s structure.
The transfer touched off widespread anger amongst Georgians, who polls present are firmly pro-EU, and prompted a police crackdown , with over 400 individuals, together with senior opposition leaders, detained.
Zourabichvili has accused Georgian Dream of intentionally sinking Georgia’s EU hopes and as a substitute transferring in direction of Russia, from which Georgia gained independence in 1991.
Opposition supporters say that below Zourabichvili, who was elected with Georgian Dream’s help in 2018 earlier than breaking with the occasion in recent times, the presidency was the one establishment within the nation not finally below the management of ruling occasion founder Ivanishvili.
They are saying that with the set up of Kavelashvili, Ivanishvili could have whole management over Georgia.
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