Former 'pro-Russia' professional football player elected to Georgia's new president

Pro-Russian politician Mikhail Kabelashvili has been elected as the new president of the former Soviet state of Georgia in the Caucasus region.

Kabelashvili was elected president with 224 votes out of 225 electors in the presidential election held in parliament in the capital, Tbilisi, on the 15th local time.

He was a famous professional footballer who played as a striker for Manchester City and others in the English Premier League (EPL) from 1995 to 1997.

He returned home after playing in Switzerland and was elected to the National Assembly in 2016 as a member of Georgia's Dream.

Reuters introduced him as a figure who has shown a strong anti-Western streak and conspiracy-theoretic views.

"Western intelligence is trying to drive Georgia into a war with Russia that ruled for 200 years," he claimed in a public address this year.

Georgia's presidential election is the first presidential election held on an indirect election since the 2017 cabinet system was revised.

The Electoral College consists of lawmakers and local representatives. Kabelashvili is running alone in this presidential election.

Georgia's Dream, a ruling party pursuing a pro-Russia line, declared it would hold off on seeking EU membership until 2028 after winning 89 of its 150 seats in the Oct. 27 general election.

As a result, public opinion has spread that EU membership is a national goal specified in the constitution.

Tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated outside the Capitol every night for more than two weeks, and police used water cannons and tear gas to crack down hard.

Ahead of the presidential election, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the parliament building in snow to play soccer and waved red cards mocking Kabelashvili's soccer career.

Beji Khohose, who participated in the protest, criticized the vote as "a treason against the wishes of the Georgian people who want unity with the West" and that "today's election shows the clear will of the current regime to return Georgia to its former Soviet roots."

The pro-Western president, Salome Jurabishvili, refuses to leave office.

He says Russia interfered in the general election and argues that an illegal parliament made up of rigged elections does not have the power to elect a new president.

He reiterated on social media (SNS) X that he would refuse to leave office, saying, "I will stay here because I need legal institutions and representatives elected by the people."

In Georgia, the president has the right to command the military as an iconic head of state.

The real power to lead the executive branch lies with the prime minister, nominated by parliament and appointed by the president.

President-elect Kabelashvili's inauguration is scheduled for the 29th.