The electoral college, consisting of 300 members, will elect the president of Georgia on Saturday. This will come after 16 days of massive pro-European protests that have gripped the country. The only candidate put forward by the ruling Georgian Dream party is politician and former football player Mikheil Kavelashvili. The choice sparked sharp criticism from the opposition and the incumbent head of state. Pro-Western Salome Zurabishvili, who supports the demonstrators, announced that she will not leave office and will not recognize the election of the new president.
The Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papaushvili, announced that the election of the president would take place in the meeting hall from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time (6 a.m. to 11 a.m. Polish time). Shortly after the vote, the Central Electoral Commission will meet and announce the name of the president on Saturday.
This is the first time that the president Georgia is not selected in direct elections. In accordance with the amendments to the constitution adopted in 2017, the head of state is elected by a special electoral college consisting of members of parliament and representatives of local authorities.
Papaushvili said that the ruling Georgian Dream (GM) party has 211 electors, 69 of which are representatives of opposition parties. The remaining 20 seats belong to the People's Assembly of Abkhazia, whose members have no party affiliation.
Saturday's vote is expected to spark more anti-government protests.
The only candidate
53-year-old Kavelashvili is a politician associated with GM, a former member of the Georgian national football team and a former player of domestic and foreign clubs, including Manchester City. He is one of the leaders of the Power of the Nation movement, which officially separated from GM. In the October parliamentary elections, he ran on the list of the ruling party.
Mikheil Kawelaschvili is the only candidateReuters
In a speech delivered on the occasion of accepting the nomination, Kavelashvili pledged to unite Georgia, while accusing the outgoing president of “insulting and ignoring” constitutional rights.
The four main opposition groups do not recognize Kavelashvili's candidacy and boycotted parliament, claiming that the elections held in October were rigged.
Mikheil Kawelaschvili is the only candidateReuters
Anti-government protests and political chaos
Anti-government protests have been taking place across Georgia since November 28. Georgians oppose the policy of the Georgian Dream, which has suspended talks on the country's accession to the European Union by 2028. The demonstrations are a grassroots social initiative and take place without speeches. Opposition parties said they did not organize these speeches and their representatives did not speak there.
After the parliamentary elections on October 26 and GM's victory, the opposition announced that it would not accept the mandates of deputies and demanded a new vote due to voting irregularities.
Massive protests in Georgia DAVID MDZINARISHVILI/PAP
The pro-Western president of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, who supports the demonstrators, also did not recognize GM's victory and called for a repeat of the parliamentary elections. She also announced that she would not leave office and would not recognize the election of the new president.
The country's prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, accused Zurabishvili of trying to harm Georgia's interests, claiming that when her term ends on December 29, she will have to switch to retirement. – We have very strong state institutions, so we will certainly have no difficulty in fully controlling the situation, he said on Friday.
The inauguration of the new head of state is scheduled for December 29
Main photo source: Reuters