Georgia elects ex‑footballer amid election boycott and unrest
The boycott of the election and the ongoing anti-government demonstrations in the country did not help. Fifty-three-year-old former football player and politician Mikheil Kavelashvili was elected president of Georgia by the electoral college.
7:31 AM EST, December 14, 2024
Kavelashvili, the only candidate put forward by the ruling Georgian Dream party, received 224 votes in an electoral college of 300 members, which includes parliamentarians and representatives of local authorities.
This is the first time the president of Georgia has not been elected through direct elections. The election results were announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC) despite the boycott of the vote by opposition party representatives and at least two deputies from the Abkhazia People's Assembly.
Since November 28, anti-government protests have been ongoing across the country, with demonstrators demanding new parliamentary elections.
They oppose the policies of the Georgian Dream, which has postponed negotiations on the country's accession to the European Union until 2028. The protests are grassroots and not organized by opposition parties.
On the day of the vote, from the early morning hours, crowds of protesters gathered in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi with banners reading: "President – puppet" and "Not my president," as well as the flags of Georgia and the European Union.
Police forces and water cannons were present at the scene, and protective equipment was distributed to the demonstrators in case of intervention by the authorities.
Mikheil Kavelashvili is a former Georgian national football team player who played for Manchester City in England and clubs in the Swiss Super League, among others. His candidacy was announced by Bidzina Ivanishvili, an oligarch and honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream, considered the most influential person in the country.
Kavelashvili is the leader of the People's Force movement, which officially split from the ruling party, although he ran on its list in the October parliamentary elections.
The opposition does not recognize the results of the October parliamentary elections, which were won by the Georgian Dream, citing numerous irregularities during the voting. They demand the announcement of a new vote and the release of over 430 detained protesters, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The inauguration of the new president is scheduled for December 29.
