Mikheil Kavelashvili, a hardline critic of the West, was sworn in as president of Georgia on Sunday amid a political crisis after the government froze European Union application talks in a move that sparked major protests.
Georgia's new president Mikheil Kavelashvili looks on during his swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Tbilisi, Georgia December 29, 2024. Reuters/Irakli Gedenidze
Mikheil Kavelashvili, a hardline critic of the West, was sworn in as president of Georgia on Sunday amid a political crisis after the government froze European Union application talks in a move that sparked major protests.
Outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU critic of the ruling party, said in a defiant speech to supporters outside the presidential palace that she was leaving the residence butremained the legitimate officeholder.
Zourabichvili says that Kavelashvili was not duly picked, as the lawmakers who chose him were elected in an October parliamentary election that she says was marked by fraud. Georgia's opposition parties support her.
The Georgian Dream ruling party and the country's election commission say that the October election was free and fair. The ruling party says Kavelashvili is the duly elected president.
By Gleb Stolyarov and Felix Light
The sun is setting in Pálpite, a small town on the edge of Cuba's vast Zapata Swamp, when suddenly the road swarms with activity. But not with the red land crabs that once attracted hundreds of thousands of tourists annually to one of the island's top eco-tourism destinations.
Nearly half of Peru’s official vote count remained outstanding on Monday as frustration grew over widespread disruptions to Sunday’s general election, with conservative Keiko Fujimori in the lead and a June runoff increasingly likely.
Benin's finance minister Romuald Wadagni was expected to coast to victory in a presidential election on Sunday, buoyed by strong economic growth and the absence of a credible challenger amid mounting fears over jihadist violence.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.