Georgia's governing lawmakers appointed Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former soccer player turned far-right politician, as president on Saturday, amid ongoing political unrest following weeks of protests and a contested parliamentary election.
Kavelashvili, 53, who once played for Manchester City, was the only candidate for the presidency. He was selected by an electoral college that replaced direct presidential elections seven years ago.
Opposition parties boycotted the vote, alleging that the parliamentary elections held in late October were tainted by vote buying, intimidation, and violence. Kavelashvili received support from the conservative Georgian Dream party, which has maintained a parliamentary majority for over a decade and has shifted the country’s alignment away from the European Union toward closer ties with Russia and China.
This election creates a standoff between Kavelashvili, set to take office in 15 days, and outgoing president Salome Zourabichvili, who has aligned with the opposition and pledged to remain in her position until new elections occur. Zourabichvili criticized the election outcome on social media, referring to it as a “mockery of democracy” and likening it to the Soviet era.
Uncertainty surrounds Zourabichvili's options to obstruct Kavelashvili’s inauguration. On Nov. 30, she asserted that “there will be no inauguration and my mandate continues.” However, on Dec. 3, the constitutional court rejected her electoral challenge.
While Zourabichvili, elected through Georgia's last popular vote, holds pro-Western views, Kavelashvili has expressed strong anti-Western sentiments. He has previously claimed that Western intelligence agencies are attempting to provoke conflict between Georgia and Moscow, which has historical ties to the country dating back to its time in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union until its independence in 1991.
Russia, which engaged in a brief war with Georgia in 2008, continues to seek influence in the strategically important Black Sea region.
Political instability in Georgia has escalated since May, when Georgian Dream lawmakers enacted a controversial “foreign influence” law co-authored by Kavelashvili. This law mandates that NGOs and media organizations receiving 20 percent or more of their funding from abroad must register as entities “pursuing the interests of a foreign power.” Critics argue that it mirrors a similar Russian law used to suppress rights organizations and media.
The crisis intensified following the October elections, leading to weeks of protests. Recently, the prime minister, a member of the Georgian Dream party, announced that the country would halt its efforts to pursue European Union membership, prompting further demonstrations.
On Friday, amid ongoing clashes between protesters and police, Parliament enacted a law prohibiting face coverings and fireworks during public protests.
Prior to Kavelashvili's vote, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Parliament, with some kicking soccer balls and others displaying their college diplomas, criticizing the former soccer player for not having a university degree.
Kavelashvili joined the Georgian Dream party in Parliament in 2016 but left in 2022 to help establish People’s Power, an anti-Western party. His nomination came from Bidzina Ivanishvili, the honorary chairman of Georgian Dream, whose substantial wealth in banking, metals, and Russian real estate has drawn scrutiny from protesters who cite his connections as a basis for the party's pro-Russian stance.