Salome Zourabichvili said on Sunday that she will vacate her official residence in Tbilisi, but declared she was still the legitimate president.
ADVERTISEMENTZourabichvili's unexpected declaration came as former football player Mikheil Kavelashvili was being inaugurated as the new president in the parliament on Sunday.
His taking over from Zourabichvili means the ruling party's grip in Georgia has now grown even tighter. The opposition called it a blow to the country’s EU aspirations and a victory for Russia which used to occupy the country under the communist Soviet Union.
“I will come out of here, come out to you and be with you. ... This presidential residence was a symbol as long as there was a president here who was legitimate. I bring legitimacy with me,” Zourabichvili told a crowd of supporters outside the palace.
Kavelashvili, who was the only candidate on the ballot, easily won the vote earlier in December given the Georgian Dream party’s control of a 300-seat electoral college that replaced direct presidential elections in 2017. It is made up of members of Parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures.
Zourabichvili called Kavelashvili's inauguration a “parody."
In his speech on Sunday, Kavelashvili promised to be “everyone’s president, regardless of whether they like me or not.” He called for the nation to unite behind him around "shared values, the principles of mutual respect, and the future we should build together."
Georgian Dream retained control of Parliament in the South Caucasus nation in an Oct. 26 election that the opposition alleges was rigged with Moscow’s help. The party has vowed to continue pushing toward accession in the European Union but also wants to “reset” ties with Russia.
Georgia’s outgoing president and main pro-Western parties have boycotted the post-election parliamentary sessions and demanded a rerun of the ballot.