Georgia Swears In New President While Incumbent Refuses To Quit
Thousands of Georgians protested in the city of Tbilisi, as a new president linked with the dominant Georgian Dream party took office.
Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former professional footballer, was sworn in during a difficult political time for the country when the government suspended its application to join the European Union.
Georgian National Anthem at the inauguration ceremony of President Mikheil Kavelashvili pic.twitter.com/Xuno0x5qzA
— IMEDI News (@tv_imedi) December 29, 2024
Georgian Dream won parliamentary elections in October, but the win was marred by charges of fraud, sparking a series of mass protests.
Salome Zourabichvili, the outgoing president, refused to stand down on Sunday, claiming to be the “only legitimate president”.
Zourabichvili told the throng gathered outside that she would depart the presidential residence but declared her replacement illegitimate.
🇬🇪President @Zourabichvili_S called on citizens to gather at the presidential palace at 10AM on Dec. 29.
— Netgazeti (@netgazeti) December 28, 2024
At 11AM, GD plans the inauguration of Mikheil Kavelashvili, as President.
Zourabichvili vows to remain in office until new elections are held, despite threats of arrest. pic.twitter.com/gSVJVc9df7
“This building was a symbol only as long as a legitimate president was sitting here,” she said.
A few minutes’ walk away, Kavelashvili was sworn in at a closed-doors ceremony in parliament, joined by his family. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also attended the opening.
Following the oath, Kavelashvili praised Georgian “traditions, values, national identity, the sanctity of the family, and faith”.
“Our history clearly shows that, after countless struggles to defend our homeland and traditions, peace has always been one of the main goals and values for the Georgian people,” he said.
Georgia’s four major opposition parties have rejected Kavelashvili and boycotted parliament.
Kavelashvili, a former MP with the Georgian Dream party, was the lone candidate for the position. Zourabichvili earlier described his election as a disgrace.
The 6th President #MikheilKavelashvili– For whom #Georgia and Georgians are the only priority.
— Eka Sepashvili (@EkaSepashvili) December 29, 2024
Patriot and defender of Peace and Independence of his homeland 🇬🇪
He is president of all 🇬🇪
Good Luck Mr. President!
God Bless you and #Georgia! ✊🏻 pic.twitter.com/4DLObehhan
Georgian Dream has become increasingly authoritarian in recent years, enacting Russian-style legislation targeting media and non-governmental organizations that accept foreign financing, as well as the LGBT population.
It refused to join Western sanctions on Russia following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and referred to the West as the “global war party,” undermining its declared goal of joining the EU and NATO.
The path to the EU is supported by the vast majority of Georgians, and it is enshrined in the national constitution.
However, the country’s ruling party announced in November that the government will not initiate EU admission discussions until 2028.
The announcement provoked days of protests, and riot police deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse protestors, who responded with pyrotechnics and stones.
Protesters flying Georgian and EU flags gathered again on Saturday before the inauguration, forming a kilometre-long human chain.
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“I am out in the street together with my whole family trying somehow to tear out this small country out of the claws of the Russian empire,” one protester told the Associated Press.
This Monday, the United States imposed sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s former prime minister and millionaire founder of Georgian Dream.
Georgia is a parliamentary democracy, with the president as head of state and the prime minister as head of parliament.
Zourabichvili was endorsed by Georgian Dream when she was elected president in 2018, but she has since branded their challenged election triumph in late October as a “Russian special operation” and supported nightly pro-EU protests outside parliament.
Georgia Swears In New President While Incumbent Refuses To Quit
