Georgia’s crisis deepens as ex-footballer Kavelashvili is named president

A former Manchester City footballer is to be named president of Georgia on Saturday after 16 days of pro-EU protests swept through the country’s cities.

Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, is a former member of parliament from the increasingly authoritarian ruling Georgian Dream party. On Saturday, he is expected to be elected by an electoral college controlled by the ruling party in question.

His appointment comes after a highly contentious process in Georgia’s embattled parliament – the four main opposition groups have rejected him and refuse to participate in parliamentary activities. They insist that the October election was rigged.

Georgia’s outgoing pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, has denounced Kavelashvili’s election as a travesty and insists she holds Georgia’s only remaining legitimate institution.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused the president of trying to harm Georgia’s interests and stresses that when her term ends on December 29, she will have to retire.

“We have very strong state institutions, so we certainly have no problem bringing the situation under full control,” he was quoted as saying on Friday.

Party colleague Nino Tsilosani told reporters that Zourabichvili was no longer president in the eyes of the public.

Protests against the Georgian Dream began immediately after the October election, but flared up on November 28 when the government announced it was suspending EU accession talks until 2028.

An overwhelming majority of Georgians support the country’s path to the EU, and this is part of the constitution.

Every night the main street outside the parliament is filled with demonstrators draped in EU flags demanding new elections.

Saturday’s vote in parliament is expected to take several hours and lead to an increase in protests against the government. It will involve a direct vote by a 300-member electoral college made up of MPs and local officials loyal to the Georgian Dream from across the country.

Ahead of the vote, the capital Tbilisi was rocked by pop-up protests on Friday involving IT specialists, public sector workers, creative professionals, actors and lawyers.

“We stand here to create a legal state once and for all, to respect the provisions of the constitution and human rights,” said lawyer Davit Kikaleishvili, 47.

Kavelashvili is the founder of the People’s Power party, known to be the main voice of anti-Western propaganda in Georgia.

He has accused opposition parties of acting as a “fifth column” directed from abroad and described President Zourabichvili as a “chief agent”.

Kavelashvili moved into politics after he was disqualified from applying for the leadership of the Georgian Football Association because he lacked the qualifications.

Although his party ran alongside Georgian Dream in the October elections, it has now decided to appear in parliament as a “healthy opposition”, to fill the place of the “so-called radical opposition funded by foreign forces”.

Georgian Dream, founded by billionaire businessman and former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has been accused of pulling the country back into Russia’s sphere of influence.

Both the EU and the US have condemned the government for democratic backsliding, and more than 460 people have been detained across Georgia over the past two weeks, according to Transparency International.

More than 300 have been ill-treated or tortured, the organization says, including dozens of people from Georgian media. Last weekend thugs were filmed attacking a TV reporter and cameraman.

The The EU has condemned the “brutal, unlawful force of the police” and foreign ministers are to consider action against the government when they meet on Monday.

The The US State Department has already imposed visa restrictions on Georgian officials, including government ministers and police.

Protesters have called on the international community to impose sanctions on top government officials as well as Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s most powerful man.

Pro-government groups have also waged a campaign of harassment against civil society activists, beating them outside their homes and carrying out arbitrary arrests.

“There is systematic torture, inhuman and degrading treatment of citizens,” said former human rights defender Nino Lomjaria.

Theater workers who took part in the protests on Friday chanted: “The police are everywhere, justice is nowhere.”

At one point, two men navigated a construction crane while protesters marched along an avenue. The couple waved a Georgian flag as crowds cheered below.