CNN
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Georgian lawmakers voted in a far-right former soccer star as the country’s next president on Saturday, deepening tensions between the pro-Russian government and pro-Western opposition amid mounting popular anger over the former’s decision to halt European Union accession talks.
Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, is a former MP for the ruling Georgian Dream party and played for the English soccer team Manchester City during the 1990s. He was the only candidate in the running.
For the first time, the president was chosen not by a national election, but in parliament by a direct ballot of a 300-member electoral college made up of MPs and representatives of local government. Because the four main opposition groups have boycotted parliament since October’s disputed election, Kavelashvili was a shoo-in to win.
In total there were 225 electors present for the vote, and 224 voted for Kavelashvili, who was the only candidate nominated, Reuters reported. He will be inaugurated on December 29, the news agency said. Georgian presidents hold largely ceremonial powers.
Kavelashvili is a hardline critic of the West and his upcoming presidency will no doubt exacerbate divisions between pro-Kremlin forces and pro-EU protesters, many of whom who have camped out in Tbilisi for the past 16 nights following the government’s decision to halt talks on joining the EU.
Tensions have been brewing for months in the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people, where critics accuse the ruling Georgian Dream party of following increasingly authoritarian, pro-Russia policies in a turn away from the West that has tempered hopes for Georgia’s long-promised path to EU membership.
Georgia’s Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, congratulated Kavelashvili at a briefing following the vote, while also describing the outgoing president, Salome Zourabichvili, as an “agent” of unspecified foreign powers, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Zourabichvili, a pro-Western figure who has joined the opposition protesters, said the presidential vote made “a mockery of democracy.” Before the vote, she vowed to remain in office despite the result, insisting she holds the only legitimate institution left in Georgia.
“I’m here and will remain – standing together with everyone!” Zourabichvili said late Friday.
It is not clear how Georgian Dream will respond if Zourabichvili refuses to leave office. In an interview with CNN in October, Zourabichvili downplayed fears about her safety, saying her future “is not as important as the future of Georgia.”
Critics have questioned Kavelashvili’s competence for the role, pointing to his background in sport rather than politics. He entered politics in 2016 after he was disqualified from seeking the leadership of the Georgian football federation because he has no higher education.
Natalie Sabanadze, Georgia’s former ambassador to the EU, told CNN that Kavelashvili is “absolutely not qualified” and that his selection was taken by many Georgians as “an insult to the country.”
“This was not just a nomination of a puppet who obviously cannot think for himself, but I think it was also a signal to Europe that… we’ll have a president which is completely opposed to the Western values,” said Sabanadze.
Georgia has slid into crisis since a disputed election in October. Georgian Dream – already 12 years in office – claimed victory, but observers say the vote was neither free nor fair. The European Parliament has called for a rerun.
Despite claiming earlier that his party was committed to joining the EU, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced on November 28 that his government would suspend accession talks with the EU, which some 80% of Georgians support joining.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s relations with the EU have deteriorated sharply in recent months as Brussels has alleged that the government had resorted to authoritarian measures and adopted pro-Russian stances.
Pro-EU Georgian citizens have demonstrated outside the parliament building in Tbilisi every night since November 28, despite police and masked “special forces” meting out a catalogue of violence against dozens of protesters. CNN asked the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs for comment on the alleged brutality by the masked forces but did not receive a response.
Georgia’s interior ministry has said that more than 150 officers have been injured during the protests, Reuters reported.
Early Saturday, protesters took to the streets for a 17th day. Some were seen kicking soccer balls, seeming to mock the expected appointment of Kavelashvili.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
