Georgia’s governing party taps pro-Russian ex-footballer for president
Al Jazeera
Mikheil Kavelashvili viewed as shoo-in for ceremonial post given Georgian Dream’s influence over electoral college vote.
Georgia’s governing party has nominated far-right politician Mikheil Kavelashvili as its candidate for president after disputed parliamentary elections last month.
Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream party, announced the decision on Wednesday, calling the 53-year-old former deputy and footballer “the embodiment of a Georgian man” before a vote on the mostly ceremonial position on December 14.
Kavelashvili, a striker in the Premier League for Manchester City in the mid-1990s who later became known for his hardline, anti-Western statements as leader of a Georgian Dream splinter group called People’s Power, is all but certain to win the electoral college vote, given the ruling party’s sway over its members.
The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since Georgian Dream won disputed parliamentary elections on October 26, which were widely seen as a referendum on the country’s effort to join the European Union.
President Salome Zurabishvili has declared the new legislature “unconstitutional” and is seeking to annul the election results, alleging the vote was rigged under Russian influence.
