Georgia to inaugurate disputed president amid political crisis

Georgia is gearing up for Sunday’s inauguration of a ruling party loyalist as president, after his election was declared “illegitimate” by the outgoing leader and the pro-Western opposition.

Mikheil Kavelashvili’s inauguration is expected to further escalate the political crisis which has seen mass pro-EU demonstrations.

The Black Sea nation has been in turmoil since October’s disputed parliamentary elections and the government’s decision to shelve European Union accession talks.

On December 14, an electoral college controlled by the ruling Georgian Dream party installed the far-right former footballer as the country’s next figurehead leader.

But outgoing President Salome Zurabishvili, whose mandate ends with the new leader’s inauguration, has refused to step down until the government announces fresh parliamentary elections.

For the first time in Georgia’s history, the swearing-in ceremony will take place behind closed doors in parliament.

Opposition parties have refused to enter the newly elected parliament, while Zurabishvili has declared the legislature, the government, and president-elect “illegitimate”.

“The elections did not happen — not only because they were illegitimate, but because they have not been recognised by you and by our foreign partners,” she told tens of thousands of anti-government protesters last Sunday.

“There is only one formula to resolve such a crisis, one universally recognised in every democratic country: new elections,” she said calling on Georgian Dream to “negotiate” on the date of new polls.

– ‘Many years of imprisonment’ –

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s announcement on November 28 that Tbilisi will not seek the opening of EU accession talks until 2028, triggered a month of daily mass protests which are still ongoing.

It remains unclear how Georgian Dream will react if Zurabishvili refuses to leave the presidential palace.

She is hugely popular among protesters who see her as a beacon of Georgia’s European aspirations and many have vowed to defend her against any attempted eviction from presidential palace.

Kobakhidze said Zurabishvili’s failure to vacate the Orbeliani Palace “would constitute a criminal offence punishable by many years of imprisonment — not only for Salome Zurabishvili herself but also for anyone involved in such a scenario.”

Mirroring language reminiscent of that used by the Kremlin about its political opponents, Kobakhidze has described protesters as “violent groups” controlled by a “liberal fascist” opposition and ruled out calling fresh elections.

In the first 10 days of protests, riot police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators — some of whom threw fireworks and stones.

The interior ministry reported more than 400 arrests, while the country’s top human rights official, ombudsman Levan Ioseliani and Amnesty International have accused security forces of “torturing” those detained.

– Pro-Russian tilt –

The reported police brutality has drawn growing international condemnation, with Washington and several European countries imposing visa bans on Georgian Dream officials.

Last week, the United States and Britain slapped sanctions on Georgia’s interior minister and other senior officials over a clampdown on pro-Western demonstrators.

Constitutional law experts — including one author of Georgia’s constitution, Vakhtang Khmaladze — have also said the new parliament, government and president-elect are “illegitimate.”

That is because a court ruling on Zurabishvili’s bid to get parliamentary poll results annulled was still pending at the time. The court eventually ruled the case inadmissible.

Tensions have ratcheted higher in Georgia since 2022, driven by the ruling Georgian Dream party’s shift from its initially liberal, pro-Western agenda to what critics have denounced as an ultra-conservative pro-Russian tilt.

In power for more than a decade, Georgian Dream this year adopted controversial Kremlin-styled laws, targeting civil society and independent media and curbing LGBTQ rights.

The measures sparked weeks of mass anti-government protests this spring and led Brussels to freeze Georgia’s EU accession process.