Mikheil Kavelashvili Assumes Office as the New President of Georgia
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Tbilisi, Dec 15 (NationPress) The candidate of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Mikheil Kavelashvili, has officially been elected as the President of Georgia, according to an announcement made by the Central Election Commission.
Kavelashvili secured 224 votes from a total of 300 members of the electoral college, as reported by the commission.
To qualify for election, a candidate must achieve a minimum of 200 votes.
The presidential election took place in Georgia on Saturday. This marks a historic moment as it is the first instance where the president is elected without a direct public vote.
On the preceding Tuesday, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili had advocated for the presidential election to be scheduled for December 14, according to the Xinhua news agency.
The inauguration ceremony for the newly elected president is set for December 29.
This session followed the approval of the mandate for the newly elected lawmakers in the Georgian Parliament, in its first assembly since the parliamentary elections last month, wherein the ruling Georgian Dream party secured an 89-seat majority in the 150-seat Parliament with 53.93 percent of the votes.
The session also coincided with ongoing protests in Tbilisi that began late last week regarding the results of the October 26 elections, which were dismissed by the incumbent president Salome Zourabichvili and opposition factions.
Zourabichvili declared her refusal to recognize the results, claiming the election was tainted by Russian interference, while opposition parties labeled the election as stolen.
This election signifies the first occasion where the Georgian president will not be chosen through direct public voting.
The new president will be selected by a 300-member electoral college, consisting of members of Parliament and regional delegates.
Zourabichvili, who was elected president in 2018, will see her term conclude on December 16.
Recently, the Georgian government announced the suspension of negotiations regarding the country's accession to the European Union and has declined any budgetary grants until the end of 2028, as stated by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
