WEB DESK
In Georgia, thousands of people are protesting in the capital, Tbilisi, ahead of swearing in of the new President Mikheil Kavelashvili today. On 14th of this month, Georgian Parliament elected Mikheil Kavelashvili as President of the country. However, the current head of state, Salome Zourabichvili, refused to step down, describing his election as illegitimate. The four main opposition groups have also rejected Kavelashvili and boycotted parliament.
Georgian Dream Party, which has been in power for 12 years, won parliamentary elections in October, but the victory was mired by allegations of fraud and there have since been protests. But what really ignited recent protests was the November announcement by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze that he was suspending Georgia’s European Union membership application process until the end of 2028. An overwhelming majority of Georgians back the country’s path to the European Union. But Georgia refused to join Western sanctions on Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and called the West the global war party. It is as yet unclear how the stand-off will be resolved.