Georgia’s unrest intensifies when a former football player is elected president.
Following 16 days of pro-EU demonstrations that have swept Georgia’s towns and cities. The disputed parliament is scheduled to pick a former Manchester City football player as president on Saturday.
The sole contender for the position is Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53. A former MP from the increasingly authoritarian ruling Georgian Dream party.
The four major opposition parties, who claim that the October elections were manipulated, have boycotted parliament and dismissed Kavelashvili.
Salome Zourabichvili, Georgia’s departing pro-Western president. Has called Kavelashvili’s election a farce and maintained that she is in charge of the country’s only surviving legitimate institution.
The president is accused of attempting to undermine Georgia’s interests by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. Who also emphasized that she will have to retire when her tenure ends on December 29.
He was cited on Friday as stating, “We surely have no trouble in bringing the issue under full control. Because we have extremely strong state institutions.”
Nino Tsilosani, a party colleague, told reporters that the public no longer viewed Zourabichvili as president.
After the October elections, protests against Georgian Dream started right away. But they really got going on November 28 when the administration declared it was delaying EU admission talks until 2028.
Georgia’s path to the European Union is supported by the vast majority of Georgians and is outlined in the constitution.
Protesters with EU flags swarm the main avenue outside parliament every night, calling for fresh elections.
It is anticipated that the parliamentary vote on. Saturday will take many hours and lead to a surge in anti-government demonstrations. There will be a direct vote by a 300-
Georgian Dream-aligned municipal leaders and Members of Parliament from across the nation comprise the member electoral college.
Pop-up demonstrations featuring IT experts, public sector employees. Professionals from the creative industry, actors, and attorneys rocked the city of Tbilisi on Friday before of the vote.
Lawyer Davit Kikaleishvili, 47, stated, “We are standing here to construct a legal state once and for all. To respect the principles of the constitution and human rights.”
Kavelashvili founded the People’s Power party, which is well-known in Georgia for being the primary spokesperson for anti-Western propaganda.
He has called President Zourabichvili a “principal agent” and charged. Opposition groups of operating as a “fifth column” under foreign direction.
After being denied the opportunity to run for the. Georgian football federation’s leadership due to his lack of qualifications, Kavelashvili entered politics.
Despite running alongside Georgian Dream in the October elections, his party has now chosen to replace the “so-called radical opposition backed by foreign forces” in parliament by acting as a “healthy opposition.”
Billionaire entrepreneur and former Georgian prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili formed Georgian Dream, which has been charged of entangling Georgia once more in Russia’s sphere of influence.
Transparency International reports that over 460 people have been jailed throughout Georgia in the last two weeks, and the US and EU have both denounced the government for democratic backsliding.
The organization claims that over 300 people, including dozens of members of Georgian media, have suffered abuse or torture.
A TV reporter and cameraman were attacked by thugs on camera last weekend.
Georgian authorities, such as police officers and government ministers, are already subject to visa restrictions from the US State Department.
Protesters have urged the international world to sanction Georgia’s most influential individual, Bidzina Ivanishvili, as well as senior government officials.
Additionally, pro-government organizations have been harassing civil society activists by beating them outside of their houses and making arbitrary arrests.
According to Nino Lomjaria, a former public rights advocate, “there is systematic torture, inhuman and degrading treatment of civilians.”
The slogans of the theater employees who participated in Friday’s demonstrations were “The cops are everywhere, justice is nowhere.”
As demonstrators marched down an avenue, two guys once climbed up a construction crane. As the throng below applauded, the two raised a Georgian flag.
