Georgia’s crisis deepens as former footballer Kavelashvili will be named president

A former Manchester City footballer will be named president on Saturday by Georgia’s disputed parliament, after 16 days of pro-EU protests that have swept the country’s towns and cities.

Mikheil Kavelashvili, now 53, is a former MP of the increasingly authoritarian ruling Georgian Dream party and the only candidate for the position.

The four main opposition groups rejected Kavelashvili and boycotted parliament, insisting that elections held in October were rigged.

Georgia’s outgoing pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, condemned Kavelashvili’s election as a sham, insisting that she holds the only legitimate institution left in Georgia.

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

“We have very strong state institutions, so we certainly do not have any difficulty in fully controlling the situation,” he said on Friday.

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

Protests against the Georgian Dream began immediately after the October elections, but came to life on November 28, when the government announced that it would suspend EU accession negotiations until 2028.

An overwhelming majority of Georgians support the country’s path to the European Union and it is part of the constitution.

Every night, the main avenue in front of parliament is filled with protesters draped in EU flags, demanding new elections.

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

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

“We are here to create a rule of law once and for all, to respect the provisions of the Constitution and human rights,” said lawyer Davit Kikaleishvili, 47.

Kavelashvili is one of the founders of the People Power party, known for being the main voice of anti-Western propaganda in Georgia.

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

Kavelashvili entered politics after he was disqualified from running for the leadership of the Georgian football federation because he lacked the qualifications.

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

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

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

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

He The EU has condemned “brutal and illegal police force” and foreign ministers must consider action against the government when they meet on Monday.

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

Protesters have called on the international community to impose sanctions on senior 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 and inhuman and degrading treatment of citizens,” said former public rights defender Nino Lomjaria.

Theater workers who joined the protests on Friday chanted: “Police are everywhere, justice nowhere.”

At one point, two men scaled a construction crane as protesters marched down an avenue. The couple waved a Georgian flag as the crowd cheered below.