Thousands of Georgian protesters have formed a human chain in the capital Tbilisi ahead of a political showdown as the country prepares to inaugurate a new president.
Former Manchester City footballer Mikhail Kavelashvili, seen as an ally of the ruling Georgian Dream party, is set to be inaugurated as the new president on Sunday.
However, the current head of state, Salome Dzoravicvili, is refusing to resign, claiming that her election was illegal.
Georgia Dream, which has been in power for 12 years, won the National Assembly election last October, but its victory was bogged down by allegations of fraud and protests ensued.
The four main opposition parties disavowed Kabelashvili and boycotted parliament.
It is still unclear how the conflict will be resolved.
On Saturday, protesters waving Georgian and EU flags formed human chains stretching for kilometers.
“I took to the streets with my whole family to try to tear this small country out of the clutches of the Russian Empire,” one protester told The Associated Press.
Georgian Dream has become increasingly authoritarian in recent years, passing Russian-style laws targeting foreign-funded media, non-governmental organizations and the LGBT community.
He refused to join Western sanctions against Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, called the West a “world war party” and mocked his own goal of joining the EU and NATO.
An overwhelming majority of Georgians support the country’s EU membership, which is part of the constitution.
But last November, the ruling party said the government would not pursue EU accession talks until 2028.
The announcement sparked days of protests, with riot police using tear gas and water cannons against protesters who fought back by throwing firecrackers and stones.
USA this week impose sanctions We talk about Bidzina Ivanishvili, former Prime Minister of Georgia and founder of Georgian Dream.
Georgia is a parliamentary democracy with the president as head of state and the prime minister as speaker of parliament.
Current President Zourabichvili has called it a travesty that Kavelashvili won as the only candidate elected under the Electoral College system.
When Zoravichvili became president in 2018, she had the support of Georgian Dream, but later denounced their election victory in late October as a “Russian special operation” and supported nightly pro-EU protests outside parliament.
Zourabichvili vowed on Sunday that he would not resign.
The government said she would be committing a crime if she refused to leave office.
