TBILISI, Georgia — Georgian lawmakers named former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili as president on Saturday, as the ruling party tightened its grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s European Union aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.
Kavelashvili, 53, a former Manchester City player and the only candidate on the ballot, won the vote by an electoral college that replaced direct presidential elections in 2017. The ruling Georgian Dream party controls the 300-seat electoral college made up of members of Parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures.
Georgian Dream retained control of Parliament in the South Caucasus nation in an Oct. 26 election that the opposition alleges was rigged with Moscow’s help. The party has vowed to continue pushing toward EU accession but also wants to “reset” ties with Russia.
Georgia’s outgoing president and main pro-Western parties have boycotted the post-election parliamentary sessions and demanded a rerun of the ballot.
In 2008, Russia fought a brief war with Georgia, which led to Moscow’s recognition of two breakaway regions as independent, and an increase in the Russian military presence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow, accusations the ruling party has denied. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.
Pro-Western Salome Zourabichvili has been president since 2018 and has vowed to stay on after her six-year term ends Monday, describing herself as the only legitimate leader until a new election is held.
Georgian Dream’s decision last month to suspend talks on their country’s bid to join the European Union added to the opposition’s outrage and galvanized protests.
Who is the outgoing president?
Zourabichvili, 72, was born in France to parents with Georgian roots and had a successful career with the French Foreign Ministry before President Mikheil Saakashvili named her Georgia’s top diplomat in 2004.
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.
“I remain your president — there is no legitimate parliament and thus no legitimate election or inauguration,” she has declared on the social network X. “My mandate continues.”
Zourabichvili rejects government claims that the opposition was fomenting violence.
“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.
“Georgia has been always resisting Russian influence and will not accept having its vote stolen and its destiny stolen.”
Zourabichvili said Saturday’s vote was a “provocation” and “a parody.” A leader of one of Georgia’s main opposition parties said it was unconstitutional.
Giorgi Vashadze of the Unity National Movement Coalition said Zourabichvili is “the only legitimate source of power.”
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said Kavelashvili’s win “will make a significant contribution to strengthening Georgia’s statehood and our sovereignty, as well as reducing radicalism and so-called polarization.”
“The main mission of the presidential institution is to care for the unity of the nation and society,” said Kobakhidze, a former university professor and later chairman of Georgian Dream.
Who is Kavelashvili?
Kavelashvili was a striker in the English Premier League for Manchester City and played for several soccer clubs in the Swiss Super League. He was elected to Parliament in 2016 on the Georgian Dream ticket and in 2022 co-founded the People’s Power political movement, which was allied with Georgian Dream and become known for its strong anti-Western rhetoric. Georgian Dream nominated Kavelashvili.
Some have mocked the athlete for lacking higher education. Some protesters outside Tbilisi’s Parliament building on Saturday morning brought their university diplomas, and others kicked soccer balls.
Kavelashvili was one of the authors of a controversial law requiring organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.
The EU, which granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that the country meets the bloc’s recommendations, put its accession on hold and cut financial support in June following approval of the “foreign influence” law.
How did opposition protests unfold?
Thousands of demonstrators converged on the Parliament building every night after the government announced the suspension of EU accession talks on Nov. 28.
Riot police used water cannons and tear gas almost daily to disperse and beat scores of protesters, some of whom threw fireworks at officers and built barricades on the capital’s central boulevard. Hundreds were detained and more than 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. The crackdown has drawn strong condemnation from the United States and European Union officials.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Georgia’s “European dream must not be extinguished.” In a video statement Friday in support of the protests, he said: “Europe does not seek to sow chaos, Europe does not seek to destabilize or subjugate its neighbors. The voice of Georgians must be listened to and respected.”
Protesters outside Tbilisi’s Parliament building waved signs, including one that said: “We are children of Europe.”
Kavelashvili “is not elected by us,” protester Sandro Samkharadze said. “He is controlled by a puppet government, by Bidzina Ivanishvili, by [Russian President Vladmir] Putin.”
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,” said protester Kato Kalatozishvili. “We are staying here.”
Megrelidze writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.