Thousands of Georgians gathered in the capital, Tbilisi, to protest the inauguration of Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former professional footballer and ally of the ruling Georgian Dream party, as the country’s new president.
Kavelashvili assumed office during a politically tense period following the government’s decision to suspend its application for European Union membership.
The Georgian Dream party secured victory in October’s parliamentary elections, but the results were overshadowed by allegations of electoral fraud, triggering widespread demonstrations.
Outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili, defiant in the face of political upheaval, declared on Sunday that she remains the “only legitimate president.”
Speaking to supporters gathered outside the presidential palace, Zourabichvili announced she would vacate the residence but dismissed her successor as illegitimate.
“This building was a symbol only as long as a legitimate president was sitting here,” she said.
A few minutes’ walk away, Kavelashvili was sworn in at a closed-doors ceremony in parliament, where he was accompanied by his family. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also attended the inauguration.
Speaking after taking the oath, Kavelashvili went on to praise Georgian “traditions, values, national identity, the sanctity of the family, and faith”.
“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,” he said.
Georgia’s four main opposition groups have rejected Kavelashvili and boycotted parliament.
Kavelashvili is a former MP with the Georgian Dream party and was the only candidate for the job. Zourabichvili has previously denounced his election as a travesty.
Georgian Dream has become increasingly authoritarian in recent years, passing Russian-style laws targeting media and non-government groups who receive foreign funding, and the LGBT community.
It refused to join Western sanctions on Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and called the West the “global war party”, making a mockery of its stated aim of joining the EU and Nato.
An overwhelming majority of Georgians back the country’s path to the EU and it is part of the constitution.
But in November, the country’s ruling party said the government would not seek EU accession talks until 2028.
The announcement sparked days of protests, and riot police used tear gas and water cannon against protesters, who fought back by throwing fireworks and stones.
On Saturday, protesters waving Georgian and EU flags gathered again ahead of the inauguration, forming a human chain that spanned kilometres.
“I am out in the street together with my whole family trying somehow to tear out this small country out of the claws of the Russian empire,” one protester told the Associated Press.
The United States imposed sanctions this week on Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s former prime minister and billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Georgia operates as a parliamentary democracy, where the president serves as the head of state and the prime minister leads the parliament.
Salome Zourabichvili, who was elected president in 2018 with the endorsement of Georgian Dream, has since distanced herself from the party. She has criticized their controversial election victory in late October, describing it as a “Russian special operation,” and has supported nightly pro-EU protests outside parliament.