A former football star has become the President of Georgia as the ruling party consolidates its grip on power.
Ex-Premier League striker Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, easily won the vote given the Georgian Dream party’s control of a 300-seat electoral college that replaced direct presidential elections in 2017.
Georgian Dream retained control of parliament in the South Caucasus nation in an election on October 26 that the opposition alleges was rigged with Moscow’s help.
Georgia’s outgoing president and main pro-Western parties have since boycotted parliamentary sessions and demanded a rerun of the ballot.
Georgian Dream has vowed to continue pushing toward EU accession but also wants to “reset” ties with Russia.
The opposition calls the situation a blow to the country’s European aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.
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 on 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 galvanised protests.
Thousands of demonstrators converged on the Parliament building every night after the government announced the suspension of EU accession talks on November 28.
Riot police used water cannons and tear gas almost daily to disperse and beat scores of protesters, some of whom threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the capital’s central boulevard.
Hundreds were detained and over 100 were treated for injuries.
Mr Kavelashvili played for Manchester City in the mid-to-late 1990s.
