Lawmakers in Georgia elect hard-line critic of the West as new president By Reuters
Written by Felix Light
TBILISI (Reuters) – Georgian lawmakers elected Mikheil Kavelashvili, a staunch critic of the West, as president on Saturday, replacing a former pro-West amid massive anti-government protests over the country’s stalling of European Union accession talks. month.
The move by the ruling Georgian Dream party to suspend the process of joining the EU until 2028, abruptly ending a long-standing national goal enshrined in the country’s constitution, has sparked outrage in Georgia, where opinion polls show that seeking EU membership is overwhelmingly popular.
Kavelashvili, a former professional soccer player, has strong anti-Western, often conspiratorial views. In public speeches this year, he has repeatedly accused Western intelligence agencies of trying to drive Georgia into war with Russia, which ruled Georgia for 200 years until 1991.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in the snow outside parliament ahead of the presidential vote. Others played football in the street outside and raised red cards at the parliament building, a mocking reference to Kavelashvili’s sporting career.
Protester Vezi Kokhodze described the vote as a “coup” against what he said was Georgians’ desire to integrate with the West.
“Today’s election represents a clear desire for a plan to return Georgia to its Soviet roots,” he said.
Presidents of Georgia are elected by an electoral college made up of Members of Parliament and local government representatives. Of the 225 votes present, 224 voted for Kavelashvili, who was the only candidate.
All opposition parties have boycotted parliament since the October election in which official results gave Georgian Dream nearly 54% of the vote, but the opposition says it was fraudulent.
Kavelashvili was ceremonially elevated to the presidency last month by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire former prime minister who is widely seen as the country’s leader and has moved to deepen ties with neighboring Russia, in an election that shows many Georgians dislike him.
Kavelashvili is the leader of People’s Power, the ruling party’s anti-Western faction, and was a co-author of the “foreign agents” law that requires organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding overseas to register as agents. of foreign influence, and imposes severe penalties for violations.
Outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili, an EU critic of the ruling Georgian Dream Party, has positioned herself as the leader of the protest movement and said she will remain president after her term ends. He considers parliament illegitimate due to allegations of fraud in the October elections.
In a text to X shortly before the vote, Zourabichvili said his successor’s election represented a “mockery of democracy”.
Opposition parties have said they will continue to accept Zourabichvili as the official president, even after Kavelashvili’s inauguration on December 29.
At a press conference after the vote, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze congratulated Kavelashvili, and called the outgoing president an “agent” of unspecified foreign countries.
A TROUBLED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WEST
Georgia has been seen for decades as one of the most pro-Western and democratic post-Soviet states, but relations with the West have been strained this year, with the Georgian Dream pushing for laws on foreign embassies and LGBT rights that critics say are Russian. – inspired and draconian.
Western countries have expressed concern over Georgia’s foreign policy crackdown and a shift in legitimacy, with the EU threatening fines for easing protests that have seen hundreds of arrests.
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Georgian Dream has moved to improve relations with Russia, supporting two Georgian regions that rebelled and defeated Georgia in a five-day war in 2008.
Tens of thousands of protesters protested outside the parliament day and night for more than two weeks. Some fired explosives at the police, who used water cannons and tear gas to quell the protests.
The government has repeatedly said that the protests represent an attempt at pro-EU reform and a violent seizure of power.
The Department of the Interior in Georgia said that more than 150 police officers were injured during the protest.
