Georgia’s outgoing president, Salome Zourabichvili, refuses to resign as Mikheil Kavelashvili’s successor.

1000’s of Georgians demonstrated within the capital Tbilisi through the inauguration of a brand new president allied with the ruling Georgian Dream occasion.

Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former skilled footballer, was sworn in throughout a crucial political interval for the nation after the federal government suspended its bid to affix the European Union.

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

Outgoing President Salomé Zourabichvili refused to step down on Sunday, saying she was the “solely respectable president.”

Addressing the group gathered outdoors, Zourabichvili stated she would go away the presidential palace, however referred to as her successor illegitimate.

“This constructing was solely a logo so long as a respectable president sat there,” she stated.

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

Talking after taking the oath, Kavelashvili then praised “Georgian traditions, values, nationwide id, sanctity of household and religion.”

“Our historical past clearly exhibits that after numerous struggles to defend our homeland and traditions, peace has at all times been one of many fundamental objectives and values ​​of the Georgian individuals,” he stated.

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

Kavelashvili is a former Georgian Dream occasion MP and was the one candidate for the place. Zourabichvili has already denounced his election as a parody.

Georgian Dream has change into more and more authoritarian lately, passing Russian-style legal guidelines focusing on media and non-governmental teams that obtain overseas funding, in addition to the LGBT neighborhood.

He refused to affix Western sanctions in opposition to Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and referred to as the West the “occasion of world struggle”, mocking his said purpose of becoming a member of the EU and NATO.

An awesome majority of Georgians help the nation’s membership within the EU and it’s a part of the structure.

However in November the ruling occasion stated the federal government wouldn’t search to barter EU membership earlier than 2028.

The announcement sparked days of protests and riot police used tear gasoline and water cannons in opposition to demonstrators, who responded by throwing fireworks and rocks.

On Saturday, demonstrators waving Georgian and European flags gathered once more earlier than the inauguration, forming a human chain that stretched for kilometers.

“I am on the streets with my entire household making an attempt to wrest this little nation from the clutches of the Russian empire,” one protester advised the Related Press.

The USA this week sanctions imposed about former Georgian Prime Minister and billionaire founding father of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Georgia is a parliamentary democracy with the president as head of state and the prime minister as head of parliament.

When Zourabichvili turned president in 2018, she was supported by Georgian Dream, however she has since condemned their disputed election victory in late October as a “Russian particular operation” and supported nightly pro-EU protests outdoors Parliament.

Further reporting by Nino Shonia in Tbilisi.