Thousands of people have protested in Georgia's capital Tbilisi after a former professional soccer player with backing from a pro-Russian party was sworn in as the country's new president.
Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, was formally inaugurated on Sunday, amid a political crisis after the government froze European Union application talks in a move that sparked major protests.
Mr Kavelashvili, a former Manchester City player and hardline critic of the West, pledged to be "everyone's president, regardless of whether they like me or not".
The president in Georgia is largely a ceremonial position but the opposition says his governance will be a blow to the country's EU aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.
Four opposition parties claim October's election was rigged with help from Russia, the government has suspended its application to join the European Union, and outgoing pro-EU president Salome Zourabichvili is refusing to step down from her position, saying she's the only legitimate president.
"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," Ms Zourabichvili told a crowd of supporters outside the Orbeliani Palace in Tbilisi.
She called Mr Kavelashvili's inauguration a "parody".
Mr Kavelashvili was the only candidate on the ballot and 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.
In his speech on Sunday, 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 October 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 main pro-Western parties have boycotted the post-election parliamentary sessions and demanded a re-run of the ballot. Opposition members say Mr Kavelashvili was not duly picked as the politicians who chose him were elected in October's allegedly fraudulent election.
Ruling party denies pro-Russian turn
The presidential stand-off is seen as a watershed moment in Georgia, a mountainous country of 3.7 million that had until recently been regarded as among the most democratic and pro-Western of the former Soviet states.
In 2008 Russia fought a brief war with Georgia, which led to Moscow's recognition of two breakaway regions as independent, and an increase in the Russian military presence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Mr Kavelashvili is a loyalist of Bidzina Ivanishvili, a reclusive billionaire ex-prime minister who is widely seen as Georgia's de facto leader. Mr Ivanishvili was sanctioned by the US on Friday for spearheading Georgia's current anti-Western and pro-Russian turn.
Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Mr Ivanishvili — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow, accusations the ruling party has denied.
The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.
It comes amid a month of protests in the country sparked by Georgian Dream's suspension of European Union accession talks until 2028, abruptly halting a longstanding national goal of joining the bloc that is written into the country's constitution.
Thousands of demonstrators converged on the parliament building every night after the government announced the suspension of EU accession talks on November 28.
Riot police used water cannons and tear gas almost daily to disperse and beat scores of protesters, some of whom threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the capital's central boulevard.
Hundreds were detained and more than 100 treated for injuries.
On Sunday protesters outside parliament held up red cards in a mocking reference to Mr Kavelashvili's soccer career. Local media reported six people were briefly detained amid scuffles with the police.
"Because today our president is a footballer, we are showing him a red card," a protester told The Associated Press.
"The next step will be sending him off the pitch. The Georgian people will definitely do this, because it was a circus that they have held today in the parliament."
ABC/wires
