Ex Manchester City player Mikheil Kavelashvili became president of Georgia on Saturday.
Kavelashvili (53) was the only candidate on the ballot and easily won the vote given the Georgian Dream party’s control over the 300-member electoral college, which replaced the direct presidential elections in 2017. It includes members of parliament, municipal councils and authorities regional legislative bodies.
Georgian Dream retained control of the parliament in the South Caucasus in the October 26 elections.
Since then, Georgia’s outgoing president and major pro-Western parties have been boycotting parliamentary sessions and demanding a repeat vote amid allegations that the elections were rigged with Russia’s help.
Georgian Dream has promised to continue pursuing EU accession, but also wants to “reset” relations with Russia.
In 2008, Russia fought a short war with Georgia, which led to Moscow recognizing the two separatist regions as independent and increasing Russia’s military presence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
