The former footballer and deputy Mikhail Kavelashvili, 53, was inaugurated this Sunday as president of Georgia in a ceremony at the Parliament headquarters. The outgoing government denies its legitimacy in a twist of the crisis that threatens a new wave of protests in the country.
Kavelashvili has today become the first of the country’s six presidents elected not by universal vote, but by an electoral college of 300 members, in which the representatives of the opposition groups did not participate because they considered the procedure flawed. “I swear before the people and God to defend the Constitution, the independence and the unity of the country,” Kavelashvili said in a ceremony without foreign guests.
Shortly before the inauguration, the until now pro-European president Salomé Zurabishvili left the presidential residence and declared before hundreds of her supporters that she remains the “only legitimate president of Georgia.” “Nothing has changed, whether I am in residence or not. This presidential residence was a symbol while there was a legitimate president in it,” said Zurabishvili, who described Kavelashvili’s investiture as a “parody.”
Zurabishvili has accused Georgian Dream, the ruling party, of falsifying the results of last October’s parliamentary elections, which plunged the country into a crisis that can only be overcome by holding new elections. “We are not afraid of anything, not even jail. “I take with me the legitimacy and the flag and, most importantly, your trust,” he stated.
This Saturday, when thousands of Tbilisi residents formed a human chain against the government’s decision to postpone the start of negotiations for accession to the European Union until 2028, the mayor of Tbilisi, Kaja Kaladze, threatened Zurabishvili with legal measures if he did not abandon the presidential residence. “The appropriation of a government building is a crime that is punishable by sentences of between 3 and 15 years in prison,” the mayor warned.
Red card for Kavelashvili
From the presidential residence, hundreds of opponents have headed towards the Parliament headquarters, where they have begun to protest with whistles and show red cards in reference to Kavelashvili’s football past. In his inauguration speech, the former soccer player stated that “Georgia faces an artificial polarization of society imposed from outside.” “I appreciate all citizens of Georgia, regardless of their political views. I will be the president of all,” said Kavelashvili, who promised to make all his efforts to consolidate and unite society.
According to the Georgian Constitution, the president serves as head of state but his functions are merely representative, since the executive power falls to the Government, which is made up of the parliamentary majority. “It is a historic day. In this building the independence of Georgia was proclaimed in 1991, and now the parliamentary republic has finally been formalized,” said the president of the Legislature, the deputy of the ruling party, Shalva Papuashvili, at the beginning of the investiture ceremony.
The opposition maintains its demands. He accuses the Georgian Dream Government of abandoning the path of integration in Europe and of carrying out a policy of rapprochement with Russia, and for a month he has periodically called protest actions to demand the holding of new parliamentary elections. “Zurabishvili will remain legitimate president until new parliamentary elections are held,” said one of the opposition leaders, Nikanor Melia of the Coalition for Change.
Source: www.eldiario.es
