Protesters take to the streets after the inauguration of the brand new Georgian president

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Mikheil Kavelashvili, an ally of Georgia’s authoritarian ruling get together, was sworn in as president of the Caucasus nation, sparking new protests within the capital Tbilisi.

Kavelashvili’s inauguration marks the most recent step in what critics have described as state seize by pro-Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose Georgian Dream get together has positioned the entire nation’s establishments underneath his management since his got here to energy in 2012. elected this month by a university of 300 members, most of them members or supporters of GD.

The demonstrators took to the streets with crimson playing cards, a logo of their opposition to the previous footballer, a striker for Manchester City and several other Swiss golf equipment, which have grow to be ultranationalist guardians.

The protesters, who’ve held each day rallies over the previous month because the nation’s political disaster has intensified, welcomed the US State Division’s determination to impose sanctions on Ivanishvili. He was criticized by the measures introduced on Friday, as they “undermine Georgia’s democratic and Euro-Atlantic future for the good thing about the Russian Federation.”

Leaving the Orbeliani Palace, presidential headquarters, on Sunday, Salomé Zourabichvilioutgoing president of the nation and de facto chief of the opposition, burdened that she stays the holder of this position for the nation.

In a speech to Georgians gathered exterior the palace, she denounced Kavelashvili’s inauguration as a “parody” and affirmed her loyalty to “the nation and the folks…”. . . I’ll depart right here with you and stick with you.

Zourabichvili didn’t know whether or not to barricade herself within the palace or depart it, a number of folks conversant in the matter informed the Monetary Occasions. She additionally mentioned she wouldn’t resign till new elections have been held, arguing that the school, dominated by members of the ruling get together, didn’t have the legitimacy to elect Kavelashvili as president.

She additionally demanded new elections. The European Parliament mentioned the October vote was “neither free nor truthful.”

Georgia skilled a 12 months of political upheaval. On December 14 final 12 months, folks took to the streets of Tbilisi and different cities to have fun gaining EU candidate standing, a long-held dream for a lot of within the small Caucasus nation of three.8 million inhabitants.

However the authoritarian drift accelerated in Might when Parliament handed a regulation on overseas brokers, nicknamed “Russian regulation” for its parallels with Moscow’s strategies of suppressing dissent, regardless of months of protests.

Nongovernmental organizations have warned that it’s a software geared toward dismantling civil society, much like Russia’s observe of utilizing the “overseas agent” label as a precursor to prosecution. Not like Russia, Georgian organizations should register themselves, however most NGOs refused in protest.

The subsequent flashpoint got here within the October parliamentary elections, when Georgian Dream gained 54 p.c of the vote. In line with a number of observers, widespread violations occurred on Election Day, together with poll stuffing, ID theft, and “carousel voting,” wherein the identical folks voted at a number of polling stations. . Opposition events rejected the outcomes, boycotted parliament and demanded new elections.

Irakli Kobakhidze, the GD-backed prime minister, introduced in late November that Georgia was suspending EU accession negotiations, pledging to revisit the difficulty in 2028 in order that the nation may be part of “with dignity.”

The protests intensified and have been met with unprecedented police repression, with dozens of individuals hospitalized and lots of of arrests.

“Cracks within the system appeared when folks turned in opposition to Georgian Dream, seeing their neighbors and household crushed – that was the ultimate straw,” mentioned Georgian Dream politician Tamar Chergoleishvili. opposition and former media government.

Elene Khoshtaria, head of Droa! (It is time!), member of the liberal coalition which got here second within the legislative elections in keeping with official outcomes, described the opposition as a “nationwide resistance motion”.

“It’s not about which vacation you want. It’s about whether or not you and your youngsters can proceed to reside on this nation kind of peacefully,” she mentioned.

For some opposition politicians, the nation’s slide into authoritarianism was no shock.

“For greater than 10 years, I’ve been saying that Ivanishvili’s trajectory is in direction of [Ukraine’s former pro-Russian president Viktor] Yanukovych,” mentioned Giga Bokeria, a former nationwide safety adviser. “I is perhaps shocked by the pace and a number of the shapes of the nook, however not by the nook itself. »

Kornely Kakachia, director of the Georgian Institute of Politics in Tbilisi, mentioned the ruling get together was taking a raffle by growing its oppression of civil society.

“The extra they oppress folks, the extra they arrive out,” he mentioned. “Georgians is not going to tolerate this. Too many individuals [have] I obtained uninterested in Ivanishvili.