The President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, said in a statement that he is staying in his residence in Tbilisi, Orbeliani Palace, and has no plans to leave the building. On Sunday, the new president, Mikheil Kavelashvili, who is opposed to the opposition, is scheduled to be sworn in at the parliament.
“Greetings from the Orbeliani palace. I am here, I will stay here and I will spend the night here,” announced Zurabishvili. He turned to the Georgians and announced that he was waiting for them at his headquarters, where he would announce his upcoming plans on Sunday at 10 a.m. local time (7 a.m. in Poland). “(…) I will tell you from here what tomorrow will be like. I will tell you what the next days will be like and what the days of victory will be like,” the leader said.
President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili during a protest in Tbilisi (28/12)EPA
The inauguration ceremony of Kavelashvili's presidency is planned
The president will make a statement one hour before the swearing-in ceremony of President Kavelashvili on Sunday. Zurabishvili and the opposition parties do not recognize the election of the sixth president of Georgia on December 14 by the Electoral College, which consisted only of representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Most Georgians are also against the election of Kavelashvili and the government's policies. They have been participating in anti-government demonstrations for a month demanding new parliamentary elections. They do not recognize the results of the October elections due to many violations of the law.
Protests in Tbilisi (28.12) PAP/EPA/DAVID MDZINARISHVILI
During the swearing-in ceremony, the opposition announces demonstrations
Protests were also held on Saturday. Thousands of residents of 17 cities took to the streets under the slogan “Chain of Unity” in anti-government protest.
According to the report of “Echo Kavkaza” website, a branch of Radio Svoboda, in the capital of Tiflis, people joined hands and formed a chain of more than seven kilometers, which is wrapped on both sides of the river Kura and occupied five bridges in the center of the city.
On Sunday, opposition groups will organize demonstrations under the slogan “Red card for Kavelashvili”.
According to NewsGeorgia, for the first time foreign diplomats will not participate in the swearing-in ceremony of the President of the Republic of Georgia. Parliament officials announced that there was no room for them in the building. There is still no confirmed information that representatives of the Chinese authorities will be present exclusively.
Main image source: EPA
