Georgian president-elect Mikheil Kavelashvili attends a parliament session in Tbilisi on Saturday (December 14, 2024). Photo: AP Georgian president-elect Mikheil Kavelashvili attends a parliament session in Tbilisi on Saturday (December 14, 2024). Photo: AP

Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former Manchester City player, has become Georgia's next president. The 53-year-old was the only candidate for the position and his elevation to the country's presidencyttslot, a ceremonial position nonetheless, happened after the electoral college on Saturday (December 14, 2024). (More Football News)

Georgia, a republic of the erstwhile Soviet Union, declared independence in 1991. It neighbours Russia to the north and northeast, Azerbaijan to the southeast, and Armenia and Turkey to the south. In 2008, Georgia fought a brief war with Russia, which led to Moscow's recognition of two breakaway regions in South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent autonomous regions.

In December 2023, the European Union granted Georgia a candidate status to join the block, but subsequently put the move on hold and also cut financial support in June earlier this year following the controversial passage of a "foreign influence" law that was widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms.

The statute, which mirrors a Russian law used to discredit organisations critical of the government, requires organisations that receive more than 20 per cent of their funding from abroad to register as "pursuing the interest of a foreign power".

Opposition parties had even termed it "Russian law" and the passing of the bill in the parliament, controlled by the ruling Georgian Dream party, is being widely read as a direct contradiction to the framework for the country's democratic government in the aftermath of the Rose Revolution of 2003.

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The Black Sea nation has been in turmoil since the disputed October 26 election. The ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory, winning 89 of 150 seats in contested parliamentary elections, a vote widely seen as a referendum on Georgia's EU aspirations.

The opposition and the pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili, have accused the governing party of rigging the vote with neighbouring Russia's help and have boycotted parliament sessions.

Then on December 12, the government put the EU accession talks on hold, further deepening the crisis in the country. Now, the Georgian Dream party has appointed Mikheil Kavelashvili as the new president.

Interestingly, the party scrapped direct presidential elections in 2017, replacing it with an electoral college made up of members of parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures. And Kavelashvili has become the next president of the country with an estimated population of 3,809,000.

Who is Mikheil Kavelashvili?

Born in Bolnisi, Soviet Georgia, Mikheil Kavelashvili rose through Dinamo Tbilisi ranks and made more than 100 appearances for the regional heavyweights. In 1995, he moved to England and joined Manchester City where he made limited outings.

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Kavelashvili notably scored on his debut in a Manchester derby but failed to earn regular starts. Coupled with the club's relegation from the English Premier League, his stay in England came to an end in 1997. He subsequently turned in Switzerland on a loan move to Grasshoppers, which was followed by stints with other Swiss clubs.

For the national team, Kavelashvili played 46 times and scored nine goals.

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After retiring as a professional football player, Mikheil Kavelashvili joined the Georgian Dream party and was elected to the parliament in 2016. But the former striker left the Georgian Dream to launch the People's Power party.

Known for his far-right political viewsttslot, Kavelashvili is a prominent anti-West politician in the country and has also strong opposition to LGBTQ rights.