Throughout his career as a professional footballer, Mikhail Kavelashvili, 53, had never seen so many red cards like this Sunday, when he took office as president of Georgia in a ceremony, to say the least, tense, and without foreign guests. While this pro-Russian nationalist was sworn in as president of the Caucasian country, thousands of people protested with whistles and raised signs in front of the doors of Parliament against a new head of state whom considered “illegitimate”.
A hard-line critic of the West, Kavelashvili was not elected by universal vote, but by a 300-member electoral college controlled by Georgian Dream since last October he declared himself the winner of a parliamentary election that have been described as fraudulent. The person leading these complaints is the outgoing president, the pro-European one. Salome Zurabishviliin addition to the opposition parties.
The accusations are based on reports from local and international observers, in addition to evidence collected by the OSCE mission that indicated that the vote was marked by irregularities. And behind these irregularities, the ever-present shadow of Russia, which since the brief war of 2008 has had a military presence in South Ossetia and Abkhaziatwo regions de facto independent, but officially recognized as Georgian.
Since autumn, the streets of Tbilisi, the capital, have been filled night after night with protesters demanding new elections. And not only that: they are also revolting against the decision recently made by the Georgian Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, to suspend the country’s accession negotiations to the European Union until 2028. So, protesters have had to face repression police, who have used everything from water cannons to tear gas. In fact, since the wave of protests began, dozens of people have been arrested and more than a hundred have been injured, according to Reuters.
“I promise before the people and God to defend the Constitution, the independence and the unity of the country,” said Kavelashvili, known not only for having played as a forward in Manchester City, but for being one of the authors of the controversial Georgian law on “foreign agents” inspired by a Russian norm that allows persecution of critics of the Government.
Georgia’s outgoing president Salome Zourabichvili addresses supporters and journalists on the day of the swearing-in ceremony of Georgia’s new president Mikheil Kavelashvili at the Orbeliani presidential palace in Tbilisi, Georgia.
So, everything indicates that the political crisis is only going to widen. Among other things because the outgoing president He has refused to resign despite receiving threats of imprisonment. It is true that Zurabishvili He has left the presidential palace, but he has not done so in silence. Much less with your head down. In a harsh speech delivered the same Sunday, the politician said she remained the “only legitimate president of Georgia” and described the inauguration of Georgia as a “parody.” Kavelashvili. “We are not afraid of anything, not even jail. I take the legitimacy and the flag and, most importantly, your trust,” he said to the applause of his followers.
Meanwhile, opposition formations, such as the National Unity Movement, have started a campaign to ask the international community to diplomatically isolate Kavelashvili. They have also requested the imposition of sanctions against Sueño Georgiano, which, during the last years at the head of the Government, has promoted, among others, repressive laws against the LGTBI communitythus distancing the country – officially a candidate for EU membership from 2023 – from Western values. In addition, critics generally demand retaliation against the party’s leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili, an enigmatic billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and is accused of becoming increasingly authoritarian and close to Moscow.
As explained by the regional expert of the Eurasia Group, Tinatin Japaridzein the newsletter According to the consulting firm’s daily report, Georgia is now at a critical point. “The country now has two presidents, but only one is widely recognized by many Georgians and the international community as the legitimate leader,” says the expert.
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