Protests rock Georgia as outgoing president refuses to quit office for successor

Georgians have taken to the streets of Tbilisi to protest outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili’s refusal to vacate office for her successor Mikheil Kavelashvili.

Kavelashvili, a former professional footballer and ally of the ruling Georgia Dream party, was elected in October.

Kavelashvili’s Georgian Dream party won the parliamentary election, but the victory was criticized by the presidency as fraudulent.

Outgoing President Zourabichvili declared on Sunday that she would not step down, declaring herself as the “only legitimate president.”

Speaking to a crowd of supporters, she said her successor was illegitimate.

“This building was a symbol only as long as a legitimate president was sitting here,” she said.

Meanwhile, Kavelashvili took the oath of office at a private ceremony, in the company of his family and Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze.

She emphasised the importance of unity and upholding Georgian traditions, values, national identity, family, and faith.

But Zourabichvili held a counter event outside the presidential palace on Sunday morning, vowing to resist the controversial inauguration of Kavelashvili.

The country’s four main opposition groups have refused to recognize Kavelashvili’s legitimacy and are boycotting parliament in response.

As a former MP with the ruling Georgian Dream party and the sole candidate for the position, Kavelashvili’s election has been widely criticized.

There has been no reports of violence during the protests but security personnel have been mobilized and deployed to the presidential palace and strategic areas to forestall possible breakdown of law and order.

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