The situation in Georgia remains turbulent: while hundreds of people demonstrated against him in front of parliament, the electoral assembly chose the candidate of the ruling Georgian Dream party, the ultra-right Mikhail Kavelashvili (53), as the new president.
The body, which was boycotted by the opposition, elected Kavelashvili as head of state for a five-year term on Saturday with 224 votes.
As a result of a constitutional amendment adopted in 2017, Georgia’s head of state will no longer be elected directly by the people, as was previously the case, but by a 300-member electoral assembly made up of parliamentarians and local politicians.
The opposition does not recognize the election results
The opposition boycotted the vote: because it does not recognize the results of the parliamentary elections at the end of October, which were overshadowed by allegations of fraud, its MPs do not participate in the work of parliament.
Kavelashvili was therefore the only candidate. He is a former MP with anti-Western views. Before entering politics, he worked as a professional football player. He played as a striker for Dinamo Tbilisi and Manchester City, among others, before being contracted to various clubs in Switzerland until the end of his career in 2006.
Hundreds of arrests during mass protests
Protests against the ruling party have been going on since late October, which intensified when Iraqi Prime Minister Kobachidze postponed EU accession negotiations until the end of 2028. There were violent riots, injuries and hundreds of arrests. The police are accused of violence and torture.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
