Thousands of Georgians took to the streets in Tbilisi to protest the inauguration of Mikheil Kavelashvili, the new president aligned with the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Kavelashvili, a former pro-footballer, assumed office at a critical time for the country, following the government’s suspension of its bid to join the European Union.
The ruling Georgian Dream party’s victory in the October parliamentary elections was tainted by allegations of fraud, sparking widespread protests.
Outgoing president Salome Zourabichvili, who refused to step down, declared herself the “only legitimate president” and criticized her successor.
“This building was a symbol only as long as a legitimate president was sitting here,” Zourabichvili said during her address to the crowd.
Kavelashvili was sworn in during a private ceremony in parliament, attended by his family and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
Following the ceremony, Kavelashvili emphasized Georgian “traditions, values, national identity, the sanctity of family, and faith,” and expressed that peace has always been a core goal for the Georgian people.
Georgia’s main opposition parties, however, rejected Kavelashvili’s election and boycotted the parliamentary session.
Kavelashvili, a former MP from Georgian Dream, was the sole candidate for president, and Zourabichvili had previously condemned his election as a “travesty.”
Under Georgian Dream’s rule, the country has grown increasingly authoritarian, with laws targeting media, NGOs receiving foreign funding, and the LGBT community.
The government also declined to join Western sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, further distancing itself from the EU and NATO, despite the majority of Georgians supporting the country’s integration into the European Union.
In November, Georgian Dream announced that the government would not pursue EU accession talks until 2028, prompting protests that escalated into clashes with riot police using tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators.
On the day of Kavelashvili’s inauguration, protesters formed a human chain stretching for kilometers, waving Georgian and EU flags.
“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 stated.
This week, the US imposed sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of Georgian Dream and former prime minister.
Despite Zourabichvili’s endorsement by Georgian Dream in 2018, she has since condemned the party’s actions, labeling their October election victory a “Russian special operation” and supporting pro-EU protests.
Source-BBC
