Former Man City player elected Georgian president

The Georgian parliament has voted to appoint former Manchester City player Mikhail Kavelashvili, whose party is a member of the ruling coalition, as the new president of the country.

Kavelashvili’s candidacy has been supported by 224 legislators out of 300. The 53-year-old was the only candidate considered.

Georgia is a parliamentary republic, in which the prime minister and government wield executive power, while the president’s role is ceremonial.

The pro-EU opposition, which had been protesting since the ruling Georgian Dream party achieved a landslide victory in the parliamentary election in October, has said that it refuses to recognize the results of the presidential vote.

Demonstrators, carrying Georgian and EU flags, began gathering in the center of the capital in the morning. They were heard chanting, “Salome! Salome!,” which is the name of Georgia’s outgoing pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili.

Zourabichvili told Radio France Internationale earlier this week that she has no intention of leaving the presidential palace despite her term officially expiring on Monday. “When a new president is legitimately chosen through an election, I will gladly give up my seat to him,” she said.

This is the first time that the Georgian president is being elected by MPs instead of via a popular vote.

Kavelashvili used to be a member of the Georgian Dream before joining the newly-created People’s Party in the summer of 2022. The party, which now holds eight seats in parliament, is a part of the ruling coalition.

Before becoming a politician, Kavelashvili enjoyed a successful career as a footballer. He has played for Manchester City, Dinamo Tbilisi, Spartak Vladikavkaz, and several Swiss clubs, including Basel and Zurich’s Grasshoppers, scoring a total of 166 goals. The striker also has 46 caps and 9 goals for the Georgian national squad.