Georgia’s turmoil deepens as ex-footballer to be named president
A former Manchester City footballer is set to be appointed president of Georgia on Saturday by the country’s disputed parliament, following 16 days of pro-EU protests that have erupted across its towns and cities.
Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, a former MP from the increasingly authoritarian Georgian Dream party, is the sole candidate for the position.
The four main opposition groups have rejected Kavelashvili and are boycotting parliament, claiming that the October elections were rigged.
Georgia’s outgoing pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, has denounced Kavelashvili’s election as a travesty, asserting that she represents the country’s only remaining legitimate institution.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused the president of attempting to harm Georgia’s interests, emphasizing that once her term ends on December 29, she will be required to step down.
“We have very strong state institutions, so we certainly have no difficulty in bringing the situation under full control,” he said on Friday.
Nino Tsilosani, a party colleague, told reporters that Zourabichvili is no longer regarded as president by the public.
Protests against Georgian Dream began immediately after the October elections but escalated on November 28 when the government announced it would delay EU accession negotiations until 2028.
An overwhelming majority of Georgians support the country’s EU integration, which is enshrined in the constitution.
Every evening, the main avenue outside parliament fills with protesters waving EU flags, demanding fresh elections.
Saturday’s parliamentary vote is expected to last several hours and could trigger a surge in anti-government protests. The vote will involve a direct ballot by a 300-member electoral college made up of MPs and local officials loyal to Georgian Dream from across the country.
Ahead of the vote, Tbilisi was rocked on Friday by spontaneous protests involving IT professionals, public sector workers, creative industry workers, actors, and lawyers.
“We are here to establish a legal state once and for all, to uphold the constitution and human rights,” said lawyer Davit Kikaleishvili, 47.
Kavelashvili is a founder of the People’s Power party, known for being the main voice for anti-Western propaganda in Georgia.
He has accused opposition parties of acting as a “fifth column” directed from abroad, and described President Zourabichvili as a a “chief agent”.
Kavelashvili moved into politics after he was disqualified from seeking the leadership of the Georgian football federation because he lacked the qualifications.
Although his party ran alongside Georgian Dream in the October elections, it has now decided to act in parliament as a “healthy opposition”, to fill the place of the “so-called radical opposition funded by foreign forces”.
Georgian Dream, founded by billionaire businessman and former Georgian PM Bidzina Ivanishvili, has been accused of dragging the country back into Russia’s sphere of influence.
Both the EU and US have condemned the government for democratic backsliding and more than 460 people have been detained across Georgia over the past two weeks, according to Transparency International.
More than 300 have been ill-treated or tortured, the organisation says, including dozens of people from Georgian media. Last weekend, thugs were filmed attacking a TV reporter and cameraman.
The EU has condemned the “brutal, unlawful force from the police” and foreign ministers are due to consider measures against the government when they meet on Monday.
The US state department has already imposed visa restrictions on Georgian officials, including government ministers and police.
Protesters have called on the international community to impose sanctions on top government officials as well as Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s most powerful man.
Pro-government groups have also waged a campaign of harassment towards civil society activists, beating them outside homes, and carrying out arbitrary arrests.
There is systematic torture, inhuman and degrading treatment of citizens,” said former public rights defender Nino Lomjaria.
Theatre workers who joined the protests on Friday chanted: “The police are everywhere, justice is nowhere.”
