Georgia live updates | Kavelashvili inaugurated against a backdrop of protests
We continue our live coverage of the fallout and widespread protests over Georgia’s EU accession U-turn.
Disputed president Mikheil Kavelashvili has been sworn in as Georgia’s sixth president in a tightly secured parliament session attended solely by ruling party members and officials, while self-declared interim president Salome Zourabichvili addressed crowds outside her palace before vacating it, calling the inauguration a ‘parody’.
On Sunday, Mikheil Kavelashvili was sworn in during a parliamentary ceremony attended by Georgian Dream members, the party’s founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, and top clergy led by Patriarch Ilia II’s interim replacement Shio Mujiri. The ceremony was notably absent of any foreign diplomats.
In his inaugural speech after being sworn in, Kavelashvili, a member of anti-western political party People’s Power, thanked the ruling Georgian Dream party for fielding him for the presidency, as well as the electoral college for voting for him.
Kavelashvili is the first president in Georgia’s history to be elected by an electoral college rather than by popular vote.
The Georgian news agency IPN reported that parliament prohibited the media from taking photos or videos of the event, permitting coverage of the inauguration only via a monitor set up outside the main hall.
Addressing parliament in the absence of opposition members, Kavelashvili commended Georgian traditions and family values, and focused on the importance of peace for Georgians, which he claimed was best represented by the Georgian supra feast.
‘You will probably agree that we, the Georgian people, are distinguished by our strong emotions, which our adversaries often exploit. That is why we must act with particular caution and foresight. Analysing the mistakes of the past should serve as the foundation for every decision we make in the future. We are guided solely by our national interests’, Kavelashvili stated.
His speech echoed the ruling party’s election campaign rhetoric, emphasising ‘sovereignty’ in the face of pressure from Western powers and cautioning voters about the risk of war with Russia if the party were not reelected.
‘In recent years, against the backdrop of developments in the region and the world, our country has had to face numerous challenges, including threats that could have had devastating consequences for our nation. We managed this through the unity of the Georgian people and the state. A decisive role was played by the character of a freedom-loving Georgian, who does not tolerate oppression, injustice, disrespect, or arrogance, and who demands respect for our traditions, values, national identity, the sanctity of the family, faith, and equal treatment for our homeland’, he said.
Kavelashvili continued by noting that ‘thanks to this steadfast and resolute character, the Georgian people and the state have succeeded in maintaining peace in this unequal struggle, confronting injustice and falsehood, while continuing economic progress, development, strengthening our country, and moving towards the European family.’
Kavelashvili made two general references to the ‘European family’ without specifically mentioning the European Union, and entirely omitted any reference to NATO or Georgia’s aspirations for its membership — both enshrined in Georgia’s constitution that he insisted on respecting only when addressing political disagreements.
Addressing the problem of what he described as ‘polarisation artificially imposed from outside’, Kavelashvili vowed to be ‘everybody’s president’ and contribute to ‘consolidating and unifying’ the Georgian society.
In his speech, Kavelashvili referred to Georgia’s ‘Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers’ twice, emphasising his desire for reunification with them.
While Kavelashvili was being sworn in at parliament, outgoing president Salome Zourabichvili stepped out of Orbeliani Palace, the presidential seat, to address the crowds.
Addressing the much-anticipated question of whether she would remain at Orbeliani Palace in protest, Zourabichvili confirmed her decision to vacate it.
‘I will leave this place, I will come to you, and I will stand with you. This building belongs to no one. It was a symbol as long as it housed a president who was legitimate. I carry legitimacy with me [...] Legitimacy comes from only one source, and that source is you. Where there is no trust from the people, there can be no legitimacy. That is why I will come to you and stand with you.’
Zourabichvili criticised Georgian Dream and party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili for refusing to find a ‘political solution to this deep crisis’ via ‘new, free, and genuine elections’, while calling Kavelashvili’s inauguration a ‘parody’
‘What was the response to this proposal? The response was threats against me, which are ineffective. The response was cynicism towards you […] The response was repression, violence, […] a war against its own people, against the will of its own people, and the response is the parody happening in parliament right now, at this very moment’, Zourabichvili said.
She drew a contrast between the gathering to hear her speech, announced the previous night, and the parallel ceremony held at parliament.
‘They [at parliament] are locked away, fearful, sold out, illegitimate, unrecognised by anyone, sanctioned, and filled with resentment. We are open, free, unrestrained, and very calm. Truth is on our side because we carry love for our country, and even more importantly, we carry love for one another. That is why we have prevailed’, Zourabichvili stated.
Zourabichvili outlined her immediate plans, including meeting with business representatives as well as ‘new political forces’ and ‘regional activists’ engaged in protests, and international partners ‘to convey the Georgian people’s demands’.
Before wrapping up her speech to join the crowds, Zourabichvili insisted on remaining in solidarity with anti-government protesters detained in recent weeks and laid-off public employees, and ‘defending free media’.
‘Without a free media, there will be neither free elections nor a free society’.
Following the speech by the self-declared interim president at Orbeliani Palace, protesters moved to the Georgian Parliament building, where disputed President Mikheil Kavelashvili had just been inaugurated.