Close Menu

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    I’m Disappointed By Elon Musk’s Criticism Of Budget Bill – Trump

    June 5, 2025

    Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals For Financing Terrorism

    June 5, 2025

    Utomi Threatens To Leave Nigeria For Ghana

    June 5, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • I’m Disappointed By Elon Musk’s Criticism Of Budget Bill – Trump
    • Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals For Financing Terrorism
    • Utomi Threatens To Leave Nigeria For Ghana
    • Zia Yusuf Resigns As Reform UK Chairman
    • Former Education Minister, Jubril Aminu Dies At 85
    • Trump Announces Visa Ban On Foreign Students Attending Harvard University
    • Trump Orders Investigation Into Biden’s Actions, Accuses Aides Of Conspiracy
    • Anambra Guber: INEC Publishes Final List Of Candidates
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    TheScrutinyNG
    Subscribe
    Thursday, June 5
    • Home
    • Politics
    • Business
    • News
      • World News
    • Sports
    • Interviews
    • Opinion
    • Entertainment
    • Columnists
    • ABOUT US
    TheScrutinyNG
    Home » Ex-Man City Player Mikheil Kavelashvili Poised For Georgian Presidency
    4 Mins ReadDecember 13, 2024

    Ex-Man City Player Mikheil Kavelashvili Poised For Georgian Presidency

    By Festus AdeloyeDecember 13, 2024No Comments4 Mins Read
    Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Georgian ex-footballer turned far-right politician Mikheil Kavelashvili is set to become Tbilisi’s next figurehead president in an indirect election denounced as “illegitimate” by the current pro-EU leader.

    Picked by the governing Georgian Dream party as a loyalist, the former forward for the English Premier League’s Manchester City is known for his expletive-laden parliament speeches and tirades against government critics and LGBTQ people.

    He is expected to be voted into the role by an electoral college controlled by Georgian Dream, after the party abolished the use of popular votes to elect the president under controversial constitutional changes passed in 2017.

    Kavelashvili being catapulted to the role comes at a dramatic moment as thousands of anti-government protesters have flooded Tbilisi for weeks, furious at Georgian Dream for shelving EU accession talks.

    Protesters have described Kavelashvili as a “puppet” of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian Dream’s founder, who in turn has called him “the embodiment of a Georgian man”.

    Sporting a moustache and combed back hair, his comments on LGBTQ people have raised alarm, as Georgian Dream has adopted Kremlin-style laws curbing their rights.

    The ex-footballer slammed the West for wanting “as many people as possible (to be) neutral and tolerant toward the LGBTQ ideology, which supposedly defends the weak but is, in fact, an act against humanity.”

    – Football roots –

    Born in Georgia’s tiny southwestern town of Bolnisi in 1971, Kavelashvili began his career as a professional footballer in the 1980s, playing for clubs in Georgia and Russia and becoming a striker for his country’s national team.

    The 53-year-old played for Manchester City between 1995-1997, scoring on debut against bitter crosstown rivals Manchester United.

    He then joined Swiss club Grasshoppers, where he spent most of his time on the bench, before stints elsewhere in Switzerland at Zurich, Luzern, Sion, Aarau and Basel.

    Kavelashvili was disqualified from running for president of the Georgian Football Federation in 2015 due to a lack of higher education, a requirement for the role.

    He has served as an MP for Georgian Dream since 2016 and was elected to the legislature on the party’s list in October 2024 polls — which opposition groups say were rigged and do not recognise.

    In 2022, Kavelashvili, alongside other Georgian Dream lawmakers, established a parliamentary faction called People’s Power — an anti-Western group that officially split from the governing party but was widely seen as its satellite.

    His political affiliations align with far-right ideologies.

    – ‘Oligarch’s puppet’ –

    He is known for obscenity-laced statements against opponents and has accused Western leaders of trying to drag Georgia into Russia’s war on Ukraine.

    Georgian Dream nominated Kavelashvili for the largely ceremonial post in late November, aiming to strengthen its grip on power.

    But the nomination outraged many in Georgia, especially those who have been taking to the streets daily for two weeks to protest Georgian Dream’s drift from its aim of joining the EU.

    On the 14th day of mass protests this week, demonstrators did not hold back in expressing their disdain for Kavelashvili.

    “I can hardly imagine anyone less suited for the role of head of state,” historian Nika Gobronidze, 53, told AFP.

    He said Ivanishvili, the businessman widely believed to be pulling the strings in Georgian politics, chose Kavelashvili as a tool he could control.

    “Caligula wanted his horse to be a consul, our oligarch wants his puppet Kavelashvili to be a president,” he said, referring to the Roman emperor.

    – ‘Illegitimate’ –

    The new electoral process makes it a foregone conclusion that Kavelashvili will be the next president, with incumbent Salome Zurabishvili set to lose office.

    But Kavelashvili will see his legitimacy undermined from the onset, with constitutional law experts — including an author of Georgia’s constitution, Vakhtang Khmaladze — saying the election will be “illegitimate”.

    Tbilisi is currently engulfed in a constitutional crisis, with Zurabishvili demanding a re-run of October’s parliamentary elections.

    Parliament had approved its own credentials in violation of a legal requirement to await a court decision on Zurabishvili’s bid to have the election results annulled.

    Zurabishvili has declared the new parliament and government “illegitimate” and vowed not to step down at the end of her term on December 29 if Georgian Dream does not organise a fresh vote.

    AFP

    Author

    • Festus Adeloye
      Festus Adeloye

      View all posts
    Manchester City Mikheil Kavelashvili
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Festus Adeloye

    Related Posts

    Featured

    I’m Disappointed By Elon Musk’s Criticism Of Budget Bill – Trump

    June 5, 2025
    Featured

    Zia Yusuf Resigns As Reform UK Chairman

    June 5, 2025
    Breaking News

    Former Education Minister, Jubril Aminu Dies At 85

    June 5, 2025
    Education

    Trump Announces Visa Ban On Foreign Students Attending Harvard University

    June 5, 2025
    Breaking News

    Trump Orders Investigation Into Biden’s Actions, Accuses Aides Of Conspiracy

    June 5, 2025
    Entertainment

    Davido Names Cobhams Asuquo As 5ive Alive World Tour Musical Director

    June 4, 2025

    Subscribe to News

    Get the latest sports news from NewsSite about world, sports and politics.

    Editor's Picks

    I’m Disappointed By Elon Musk’s Criticism Of Budget Bill – Trump

    June 5, 2025

    Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals For Financing Terrorism

    June 5, 2025

    Utomi Threatens To Leave Nigeria For Ghana

    June 5, 2025

    Zia Yusuf Resigns As Reform UK Chairman

    June 5, 2025
    Latest Posts
    Advertisement
    Facebook X (Twitter) Pinterest Vimeo WhatsApp TikTok Instagram

    News

    • World
    • US Politics
    • EU Politics
    • Business
    • Opinions
    • Connections
    • Science

    Company

    • Information
    • Advertising
    • Classified Ads
    • Contact Info
    • Do Not Sell Data
    • GDPR Policy
    • Media Kits

    Services

    • Subscriptions
    • Customer Support
    • Bulk Packages
    • Newsletters
    • Sponsored News
    • Work With Us

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    © 2025 The Scrutiny. Designed by Design Streams.

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Accessibility

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.