Kiev, Dec 14, (dpa/GNA) – Former Georgian national football team player, Mikheil Kavelashvili, was named the country’s new president on Saturday, receiving 224 votes from the electoral college members in a contentious election, amid ongoing political turmoil.
Kavelashvili, the candidate of the ruling Georgian Dream party, ran unopposed in the vote, with 200 votes required for his election.
One vote was declared invalid, local media reported citing the electoral commission.
Kavelashvili, 53, has been a member of parliament since 2016, and is seen as a hardline critic of the West.
Hundreds of demonstrators, including outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili, protested the election process outside parliament.
“Nobody elected anybody. Nothing has happened,” Zourabichvili said, according to media reports. She had earlier termed the vote as a “parody.”
This marks the first time in Georgia’s history that the president has been elected by an electoral body, rather than through direct election.
While the head of state was previously elected directly, Georgian Dream amended the constitution in 2017, to allow an electoral college, made up of members of parliament and regional representatives, to determine the winner. The ruling party has a majority in this forum.
The pro-Western opposition said, it would not recognize the vote and says Zourabichvili, will remain the legitimate head of state.
The opposition and Zourabichvili also do not recognize the results of parliamentary elections at the end of October, which were overshadowed by accusations of fraud. They are currently boycotting parliament.
Street protests against the ruling party, that erupted amid the contested parliamentary elections intensified, when the prime minister postponed EU accession negotiations until the end of 2028.
There have been violent riots, injuries and several hundred arrests. The police have been accused of violence and torture.
Georgian Dream plans to hold the inauguration of the new president on December 29.
GNA