A former Manchester City footballer has been appointed president by Georgia’s disputed parliament, after 17 days of pro-EU protests that have swept this country’s towns and cities.
According to BBC Sport, Mikheil Kavelashvili, now 53, is a former MP from the increasingly authoritarian ruling Georgian Dream party and was the only candidate for the job.
On Saturday, 224 out of 225 members of Georgia’s electoral college voted for him.
The four main opposition groups have rejected Kavelashvili and have boycotted parliament, insisting that the elections held in October were rigged.
Large crowds of protesters, facing freezing temperatures, gathered outside parliament from the early hours of Saturday morning ahead of the vote.
Georgia’s outgoing pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, has condemned Kavelashvili’s election as a travesty, insisting she holds Georgia’s only remaining legitimate institution.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused Zourabichvili of trying to harm Georgia’s interests, emphasising that when her term of office ends on 29 December, she will have to retire.
“We have very strong state institutions, so we certainly have no difficulty in bringing the situation under full control,” he was quoted as saying on Friday.
Party colleague Nino Tsilosani told reporters that Zourabichvili was no longer president in the eyes of the public.
Georgia is a parliamentary democracy with the president the head of state, and the prime minister the head of Parliament.
Protests against Georgian Dream began immediately after the October elections but they burst into life on 28 November when the government announced it was putting EU accession negotiations on hold until 2028.
An overwhelming majority of Georgians back the country’s path to the European Union and it is part of the constitution.
Every night, the main avenue outside parliament fills with protesters draped in EU flags, demanding new elections.
The night before the vote, the capital Tbilisi was convulsed by pop-up protests involving IT specialists, public sector workers, creative industry professionals, actors and lawyers.
“We are standing here to create a legal state once and for all, to respect the provisions of the constitution and human rights,” said lawyer Davit Kikaleishvili, 47.
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