KUMASI, Dec 29 (Futball Surgery)- More than 2,000 pro-EU demonstrators had gathered in Tbilisi on Sunday ahead of the disputed Georgian sworn-in ceremony of pro-Russia Georgian Dream as newly elected power.
And prior to the presidential inauguration has Georgia’s pro-western president, Salome Zourabichvili, said she will leave the palace but remains the country’s legitimate officeholder.
Salome Zourabichvili had refused to hand over the keys to her successor and Anti-Western Mikheil Kavelashvili in the wake of a controversial general election.
Zourabichvili’s comments on Sunday came moments before Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former football player turned far-right politician backed by the ruling pro-Moscow and increasingly authoritarian Georgian Dream (GD) party, was sworn in as president at a parliamentary ceremony.
Addressing the protesters, Zourabichvili, who has become a rallying figure for those opposed to GD, declared: “I remain the only legitimate president. I will leave the presidential palace and stand with you, carrying with me the legitimacy, the flag and your trust.”
The standoff between Zourabichvili and GD had plunged the country into a political crisis following the contested election in October that GD had won but many Georgians believe was rigged with Russia’s help.
