Outgoing Leader Calls Inauguration 'a Parody'

Mikheil Kavelashvili was inaugurated as the president of Georgia on Sunday over the protests of his predecessor, lawmakers, and crowds outside the presidential palace in Tbilisi. His Georgian Dream party won parliamentary elections in October, in a process that European election observers criticized and the outgoing president called part of a "Russian operation." Salome Zourabichvili said she'll leave the palace but remains the nation's legitimate president, the AP reports. "I will come out of here and be with you," she told thousands of demonstrators, calling the inauguration a parody. "I am taking legitimacy with me, I am taking the flag with me, I am taking your trust with me."

Kavelashvili delivered his inaugural address in a hall of parliament with many empty seats; the four main opposition groups have rejected Kavelashvili's election and boycotted parliament, per the BBC. Demonstrators outside held up red cards in reference to Kavelashvili's previous career as a Premier League soccer player. He urged the nation to unite behind him, per the AP, promising to be "everyone's president, regardless of whether they like me or not." Kavelashvili's installation marks a major change in direction for Georgia, which had been a leader among the former Soviet states in embracing the West. It now appears to be aligning with Russia and China, per the New York Times. Zourabichvili had steered Georgia toward EU membership, which Georgia Dream has stalled.

Georgian Dream has pushed through legislation mirroring Russia's against the media, LGBT people, and groups that receive foreign funding. It did not participate in the Western sanctioning of Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. A large majority of Georgians support the effort to join the EU. And many of them are less enamored of Russia, which invaded Georgia in 2008 and still occupies about 20% of its internationally recognized territory. "Because today our president is a footballer, we are showing him a red card," one demonstrator said. "The next step will be sending him off the pitch." (More Republic of Georgia stories.)