Georgia’s governing party has nominated far-right politician, Mikheil Kavelashvili as its candidate for President after disputed parliamentary elections last month.

Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire honorary Chairman of the Georgian Dream party, announced the decision on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, calling the 53-year-old former deputy and footballer “the embodiment of a Georgian man” before a vote on the mostly ceremonial position on December 14, 2024.

Ivanishvili also described Kavelashvili as “one of the most prominent members of our political team” and praising his “significant contribution to protecting Georgia’s national interests and strengthening the country’s sovereignty.”

President Salome Zurabishvili, whose six-year term expires next month, was elected by popular vote.

However, Georgia approved constitutional changes in 2017 that abolished the direct election of the president, replacing it with a vote by a 300-seat electoral college dominated by Georgian Dream.

Kavelashvili, a striker in the Premier League for Manchester City in the mid-1990s who later became known for his hardline, anti-Western statements as leader of a Georgian Dream splinter group called People’s Power, is all but certain to win the electoral college vote, given the ruling party’s sway over its members.

The 53-year-old played for City from 1995 to 1997 and is best remembered for scoring on his debut against Manchester United in April 1996.

The Citizens, then managed by Alan Ball, suffered a 3-2 defeat at Maine Road weeks before they were relegated from the Premier League.

Kavelashvili went on to score twice more for City in the First Division as they finished 14th but did not play enough games for his work permit to be renewed.

He was loaned to Swiss club Grasshoppers and left permanently the following summer.

He is the latest in a line of former footballers to seek public office in Georgia.

Former AC Milan Defender, Kakha Kaladze, who won the Champions League in 2003 and 2007, has served as Mayor of the capital Tbilisi since 2017.

Kavelashvili Slams Outgoing President

In a speech accepting the nomination, Kavelashvili, pledged to unite Georgia while accusing the outgoing President of having “insulted and ignored” the constitution.

Kavelashvili accused the opposition of being steered by US congressmen who have “an insatiable desire to destroy our country” and are planning for “a direct violent revolution” and the Ukrainisation of Georgia.”

Kavelashvili said in parliament, “Our society is divided,” charging that “radicalisation and polarisation” in the country has been fuelled from abroad.

He accused Zourabichvili of violating the constitution and declared that he will “restore the presidency to its constitutional framework.”

Although the President’s post is largely ceremonial, the choice of Kavelashvili is likely to be viewed by the EU and the United States as a further sign that Georgia is turning away from the West and moving closer to Russia.

The ruling party, accused of democratic backsliding and deepening ties with Russia, says it wants Georgia to join the EU, but Brussels says Tbilisi’s application is frozen over newly passed laws on “foreign agents” and restrictions on LGBTQ rights.

The Black Sea nation has been rocked by turmoil since Georgian Dream won disputed parliamentary elections on October 26, which were widely seen as a referendum on the country’s effort to join the European Union.

President Salome Zurabishvili has declared the new legislature “unconstitutional” and is seeking to annul the election results, alleging the vote was rigged under Russian influence.

European election observers said last month’s elections took place in a “divisive” atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and violence.

Georgian Dream opened the first session of the new parliament on Monday as opposition members refused to take their seats in protest.

On Tuesday, the ruling party’s lawmakers set the date for the presidential election.