New Georgian president sworn in as opposition says he is not legitimate leader

Ex-football player Mikheil Kavelashvili has been inaugurated as Georgia's president on Sunday while the former leader insists she is still the legitimate office holder amid growing tensions in the country.

Kavelashvili, 53, as the only candidate on the ballot, easily won the vote earlier in December after his party, Georgian Dream, retained control of Parliament in an election the opposition alleges was rigged by Moscow.

Outgoing pro-Western Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili called the inauguration a "parody" and said on Sunday she would vacate her residence at the Orbeliani Palace in Tbilisi, but insisted she her claim to the presidency would continue.

Meanwhile thousands of protesters have converged on the parliament building every night since the government announced plans to suspend its EU ascension talks on November 28.

Why is the outgoing president demanding another election?

Outside the presidential palace on Sunday, Salome Zourabichvili, she told crowds of supporters: “I will come out of here, come out to you and be with you. ... This presidential residence was a symbol as long as there was a president here who was legitimate. I bring legitimacy with me."

The 72-year-old was born in France to parents with Georgian roots and had a successful career with the French Foreign Ministry.

In 2004, President Mikheil Saakashvili named her Georgia’s top diplomat.

Constitutional changes made the president’s job largely ceremonial before Zourabichvili was elected by popular vote with Georgian Dream’s support in 2018.

She became sharply critical of the ruling party, accusing it of pro-Russia policies, and Georgian Dream unsuccessfully tried to impeach her.

Zourabichvili has rejected government claims that the opposition was fomenting violence and has boycotted the post-election parliamentary sessions and demanded a rerun of the ballot.

“We are not demanding a revolution,” she told The Associated Press. “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.

Who is the new president of Georgia?

In his speech Sunday, Kavelashvili promised to be “everyone’s president, regardless of whether they like me or not.”

He called for the nation to unite behind him around "shared values, the principles of mutual respect, and the future we should build together."

Mikheil Kavelashvili didn't start his political career in the most conventional way starting out as a footballer, playing in the English Premier League for Manchester City as a striker before joining several clubs in the Swiss Super League.

In 2016 he was elected to parliament with the Georgian Dream and in 2022 co-founded the People's Power party which later allied itself with the Georgian Dream, known for its anti-western views.

Kavelashvili is one of the authors of a controversial law which required organisation that received more than 20% of its funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power". It is a similar law that Russia have used to discredit groups critical of the government.

The legislation means the country's accession to the EU was put on hold and was suspended completely by Kavelashvili in November leading to wide spread protests.

How did the protests unfold?

Every night since the EU talks were suspended, thousands of protesters have descended upon the parliament building as crowds clashed with police.

Some threw fireworks at officers whilst others built barricades on the capital's central boulevard.

Water cannons and tear gas have been used by riot police to disperse and beat protestors with hundreds detained and over 100 treated for injuries.

Several journalists were beaten by police and media workers accused authorities of using thugs to deter people from attending anti-government rallies, which Georgian Dream denies.

Protesters in front of the parliament building on Sunday held red cards, in reference to Kavelashvili’s career in soccer.

“Because today our president is a footballer, we are showing him a red card. The next step will be sending him off the pitch. The Georgian people will definitely do this, because it was a circus that they have held today in the parliament."

The crackdown has drawn strong condemnation from the United States and EU officials.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, in a video statement in support of the protests, said Georgia’s "European dream must not be extinguished.”

“Europe does not seek to sow chaos, Europe does not seek to destabilize or subjugate its neighbors,” he said. “The voice of Georgians must be listened to and respected."

″(Kavelashvili) is not elected by us. He is controlled by a puppet government, by Bidzina Ivanishvili, by Putin,” protester Sandro Samkharadze said outside Tbilisi’s Parliament building.

Another protester waved a sign saying “We are children of Europe.”

Demonstrators vowed the rallies would continue. “If (the government) wants to go to Russia, they can go to Russia, because we are not going anywhere. We are staying here,” said protester Kato Kalatozishvili.

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