Breaking News: Former Premier League Footballer Voted President of Georgia

By Evans Momodu
2 minute read


Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former Premier League footballer and ex-striker for Manchester City, has been elected president of Georgia amid widespread protests over the ruling party’s perceived pro-Russian stance.

The 53-year-old, who played for Manchester City from 1996 to 1997 and later in the Swiss Super League, now assumes a largely ceremonial role, succeeding a pro-Western incumbent.

Kavelashvili, known for his anti-Western views, co-founded the People's Power political movement in 2022 after splitting from the ruling Georgian Dream party.

He was a key supporter of a controversial law requiring organisations receiving over 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power”—a move critics say mimics Russian tactics to stifle dissent.

His election came through a 300-member electoral college, controlled by Georgian Dream, that replaced direct presidential elections in 2017.

Protests erupted in Tbilisi following the announcement, with demonstrators mocking Kavelashvili's lack of higher education by bringing diplomas, waving red cards, and kicking footballs outside parliament.

Protesters decried the election as illegitimate, accusing it of steering Georgia back toward Soviet-era ties with Russia.

Critics argue the election reflects deeper control by former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and Russian influence. Vezi Kokhodze, a protester, labelled the appointment "treason" against Georgia’s pro-European aspirations, while Sandro Samkharadze described it as the work of a "puppet government" controlled by Moscow.
Source: Sky news