Former Premier League footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili has been elected as the president of Georgia, replacing the pro-Western incumbent.
Mr Kavelashvili holds anti-Western and often conspiratorial views, having previously claimed that Western intelligence agencies are attempting to push Georgia into war with Russia, its ruler for two centuries until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
He was a striker for Manchester City between 1996 and 1997, before playing for a number of clubs in the Swiss Super League.
He was first elected to parliament in 2016 for the Georgian Dream party – which is trying to deepen ties with Russia since the war began in Ukraine – and in November 2024 was selected as its presidential candidate.
Mr Kavelashvili’s election comes following huge protests against the government led by the Georgian Dream party, after it moved to freeze accession to the EU – a long standing goal which is written into the country’s constitution – until 2028.
The move prompted anger in Georgia, where seeking EU membership is overwhelmingly popular, according to opinion polls. But the former footballer eased his way into the presidency, with the Georgian Dream party controlling the 300-seat electoral college which in 2017 replaced direct presidential elections.
Protesters gathered outside the Georgian parliament building in the capital Tbilisi, many playing football and mockingly waving red cards towards the building in reference to Mr Kavelashvili’s football career.
One protester, Vezi Kokhodze, said the vote was “treason” given the desire of the Georgian population to shift close to the West. He told Reuters news agency: “Today’s election represents the clear wish of the system to bring Georgia back to its Soviet roots.”
The college of electors which selects a Georgian president – largely a ceremonial position – is made up of MPs and local government representatives – 224 of the 225 electors present voted for Mr Kavelashvili, the only candidate who was nominated.
Opposition parties have boycotted the Georgian parliament since an election in October which saw Georgian Dream win nearly 54 per cent of the vote but which was condemned as fraudulent by opposition parties.
Tens of thousands of protesters have rallied outside parliament every night for more than two weeks. Fireworks have been thrown at police, who have broken up demonstrations with water cannons and tear gas. The government claims the protests are an attempt to stage a pro-EU revolution to seize power violently.
Real power in Georgia is often seen to lie with Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire former prime minister who nominated Mr Kavelashvili for the presidency.
Mr Kavelashvili was involved in writing a law in which organisations which receive more than 20 per cent of their funding from overseas would have to register as agents of foreign influence – similar to a Russian law which discredits people critical of Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Outgoing pro-EU president Salome Zourabichvili, a critic of the ruling Georgian Dream party, described the selection of a new president as a “mockery of democracy”. She has positioned herself as the leader of the protest movement and says she will remain as president after her term ends, as she considers the parliament to be illegitimate.
