Georgia’s Crisis Deepens As Far-Right Mikheil Kavelashvili Named President

The far-right former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili was voted in as the new president of Georgia on Saturday, deepening tensions over the country’s ties to Russia.

Kavelashvili, 53, is a former lawmaker for the ruling Georgian Dream party, and later co-founded the People’s Power political movement, a splinter group known for its strong anti-Western rhetoric. He previously played for the English soccer team Manchester City between 1996 and 1997, and in several clubs in the Swiss Super League.

Kavelashvili was the only candidate on the presidential ballot and easily won the vote given the Georgian Dream party’s control of the country’s electoral college, which is composed of members of parliament and local government. Of 225 electors present, 224 voted for Kavelashvili. Georgian presidents hold largely ceremonial powers.

All opposition parties have boycotted the country’s parliament since the October 26 election, in which Georgian Dream retained control with almost 54 percent of the vote. Opposition parties have alleged that the vote was rigged with the help of Russia and have demanded a re-run of the ballot.

Hundreds of protesters marched through the streets of the country’s capital Tbilisi to protest against the vote on Saturday. Some also played soccer and waved red cards at the parliament building, mocking Kavelashvili’s previous sporting career.

Salome Zourabichvili, the outgoing, pro-Western president, said she will remain president after her term ends as she views the new parliament to be illegitimate.

“I remain your president — there is no legitimate parliament and thus no legitimate election or inauguration. My mandate continues,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter, according to The Associated Press.

She added: “Georgia, Moldova, Romania, everywhere Russia is using electoral interference and diversified hybrid instruments to try to derail those countries from their democratic path. It is a war on elections, a war on Europe.”

She also rejected claims from the government that the opposition was fomenting violence. “We are not demanding a revolution,” she told AP. “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.

“Georgia has been always resisting Russian influence and will not accept having its vote stolen and its destiny stolen.”

Giorgi Vashadze, a leader of one of Georgia’s main opposition parties, the Unity National Movement Coalition, added that Zourabichvili was “the only legitimate source of power.”

However, the country’s prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze, of the Georgian Dream party, said that Kavelashvili’s election “will make a significant contribution to strengthening Georgia’s statehood and our sovereignty, as well as reducing radicalism and so-called polarization.”

Critics have accused Georgian Dream 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.

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