Ex-football player Kavelashvili becomes Georgia's president as ruling party consolidates power

euronews (in English)

It was a straightforward victory for Kavelashvili, given the Georgian Dream party’s control of a 300-seat electoral college that replaced direct presidential elections in 2017.

Transcript

00:00Former soccer player and leader of the People's Power Group, Mikheil Kavalashvili is set to

00:07become Georgia's president after Georgian lawmakers voted almost unanimously in favor.

00:13He easily won the vote given that he was the only candidate nominated.

00:18Since the morning before the vote, hundreds of Georgians protested in front of the parliament

00:22building.

00:23It follows the consecutive nightly protests that started two weeks ago after the ruling

00:28Georgian Dream announced it would pause negotiations to join the EU until 2028.

00:35The pause angered many citizens who are in favor of closer ties with the West.

00:40Kavalashvili, who is accused to be a hardline critic of the West, will replace pro-Western

00:46Salome Zurabishvili.

00:49But the outgoing president is determined to stay in office after her term ends.

00:53Opposition parties said they would consider Zurabishvili as the legitimate president,

00:58even after Kavalashvili's inauguration on December 29.

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