Former Manchester City player is set to become the next president of Georgia | World News

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A former Manchester City footballer is set to be the next president of Georgia after the ruling party chose him as its candidate.

Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, who previously played for Georgiahis national team, he is almost certain to be elected to the largely ceremonial position.

The new president will be elected by the 300-seat electoral college, which is largely controlled by the ruling Georgian Dream party.

Their success in last month’s parliamentary elections was contested by European election observers, who described cases of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

VICTORIA sparked protests and led to a boycott of parliament by the opposition.

Critics have accused Georgian Dream of becoming increasingly authoritarian and pro-Moscow.

Mr Kavelashvili told reporters that “radicalisation and polarisation” in the country had been fueled from abroad.

He accused the president of violating the constitution and declared that he would “restore the presidency within the constitutional framework”.

Photo: Action Images/Reuters Season 95/96. Mandatory credit: Action Images. Mikhail Kavelashvili - Manchester City
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Mikheil Kavelashvili played for ManvCity in the 1995–6 season. Photo: Action Images/Reuters

Mikheil Kavelashvili, who was nominated by the ruling Georgian Dream party as a candidate for president of Georgia, attends a press conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, on February 14, 2019. (AP Photo)
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Mr Kavelashvili was elected to the Georgian parliament in 2016. File photo: AP

Georgian Dream recently imposed laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to restrict LGBTQ+ freedom of expression and rights.

In June, the EU suspended Georgia’s membership application indefinitely after parliament passed a law requiring organizations that receive more than 20 percent of foreign funding to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power.”

It is similar to a Russian law used to discredit groups critical of the government.

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Protesters clash with police in Georgia

On Monday, President Salome Zourabichvili, who rejected the official election results, refused to recognize the parliament’s legitimacy. Her six-year term expires next month.

She was elected by popular vote, but Georgia passed constitutional amendments that abolished the direct election of the president.

Instead, the new president will be elected by vote from an electoral college, made up of 300 members of parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures.

Georgian Dream has a majority in the college, making approval of Mr. Kavelashvili’s candidacy almost certain.

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Mr Kavelashvili was a striker for Manchester City in the 1995-6 season and played for several clubs in the Swiss Super League. He was elected to parliament in 2016 on the Georgian Dream ticket.

In 2022, he co-founded the Popular Power political movement, which became known for its strong anti-Western rhetoric. It is aligned with the Georgian Dream party in parliament.