Protesters take to streets as ex Man City player sworn in as President | Politics | News

Huge protests eruped in Georgia as an ex-Man City player allied with the ruling Georgian Dream party was sworn in as the country’s president on Sunday.

Protesters gathered with red cards raised high to make a stand against Mikheil Kavelashvili as leader, after his election win in October was mired in accusations of fraud.

It has sparked several protests in Georgia since, and it’s happening during a critical political period for the country after the government suspended its application to join the European Union.

Outgoing president Salome Zourabichvili addressed crowds while Kavelashvili was sworn in at a closed-doors ceremony in parliament, saying she will leave the Palace, but branded the successor illegitimate.

She said: “This building was a symbol only as long as a legitimate president was sitting here.”

Speaking after the oath, Kavelashvili said: “Our history clearly shows that, after countless struggles to defend our homeland and traditions, peace has always been one of the main goals and values for the Georgian people.”

Georgia’s four main opposition groups have rejected Kavelashvili, and Zourabichvili previously denounced his election as a travesty.

Georgian Dream refused to join Western sanctions on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. It also recently targeted media and non-government groups who receive foreign funding, and the LGBT community.

An overwhelming majority of Georgians back the country’s path to the EU, but in November, the country’s ruling party said the government would not seek EU accession talks until 2028.

This sparked days of protests where police used tear gas and water cannons, and protestors responded with fireworks and stones.

Georgia is a parliamentary democracy where the president is head of state, and the prime minister is head of parliament.

When Zourabichvili became president in 2018 she was endorsed by Georgian Dream, but she has since branded the Kavelashvili election results as a “Russian special operation” and backed pro-EU protests.