Georgia’s outgoing president Salome Zourabichvili refuses to stop as successor Mikheil Kavelashvili sworn in

Hundreds of Georgians are protesting within the capital Tbilisi as a brand new president allied with the ruling Georgian Dream social gathering was inaugurated.

Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former pro-footballer, has been sworn in throughout a essential political interval for the nation after the federal government suspended its utility to affix the European Union.

Georgian Dream gained parliamentary elections in October, however the victory was mired in allegations of fraud which have since sparked a number of avenue protests.

Outgoing president Salome Zourabichvili refused to step down on Sunday, saying she was the “solely reliable president”.

Addressing crowds gathered outdoors, Zourabichvili stated she would go away the presidential palace however branded her successor illegitimate.

“This constructing was a logo solely so long as a reliable president was sitting right here,” she stated.

A couple of minutes’ stroll away, Kavelashvili was sworn in at a closed-doors ceremony in parliament, the place he was accompanied by his household. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze additionally attended the inauguration.

Talking after taking the oath, Kavelashvili went on to reward Georgian “traditions, values, nationwide id, the sanctity of the household, and religion”.

“Our historical past clearly reveals that, after numerous struggles to defend our homeland and traditions, peace has all the time been one of many primary targets and values for the Georgian individuals,” he stated.

Georgia’s 4 primary opposition teams have rejected Kavelashvili and boycotted parliament.

Kavelashvili is a former MP with the Georgian Dream social gathering and was the one candidate for the job. Zourabichvili has beforehand denounced his election as a travesty.

Georgian Dream has grow to be more and more authoritarian in recent times, passing Russian-style legal guidelines focusing on media and non-government teams who obtain international funding, and the LGBT group.

It refused to affix Western sanctions on Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and referred to as the West the “international struggle social gathering”, making a mockery of its acknowledged goal of becoming a member of the EU and Nato.

An amazing majority of Georgians again the nation’s path to the EU and it’s a part of the structure.

However in November, the nation’s ruling social gathering stated the federal government wouldn’t search EU accession talks till 2028.

The announcement sparked days of protests, and riot police used tear gasoline and water cannon towards protesters, who fought again by throwing fireworks and stones.

On Saturday, protesters waving Georgian and EU flags gathered once more forward of the inauguration, forming a human chain that spanned kilometres.

“I’m out on the street along with my complete household attempting in some way to tear out this small nation out of the claws of the Russian empire,” one protester advised the Related Press.

The US this week imposed sanctions on Georgia’s former prime minister and billionaire founding father of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Georgia is a parliamentary democracy with the president the pinnacle of state, and the prime minister the pinnacle of parliament.

When Zourabichvili grew to become president in 2018 she was endorsed by Georgian Dream, however she has since condemned their contested election victory in late October as a “Russian particular operation” and backed nightly pro-EU protests outdoors parliament.

Further reporting from Nino Shonia in Tbilisi.