Tbilisi – A football and a Christmas Tree. These are the two symbols of Tbilisi’s historic protests. Amid street protests in the capital of Georgia, the ruling Georgian Dream party has appointed former footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili as the new President of the Republic. The announcement on 14 December came against a backdrop of demonstrations that have continued unabated since 28 November.
The scale of the protests was so significant that, on the day of the nomination, demonstrators disrupted plans to unveil a large Christmas tree in front of the Parliament, a symbol heavily charged with political meaning by Tbilisi’s mayor and Georgian Dream secretary general, Kakha Kaladze.
Following the 2017 constitutional reform, the President of the Republic is no longer elected by popular vote. Instead, the nomination is made by a 300-member Electoral College comprising 150 members of Parliament and 150 representatives from regional and local bodies. This change comes into effect after the term of Salomé Zourabichvili, which ends on 29 December. Despite accusations of widespread electoral fraud in the parliamentary elections on 26 October—claims that led the opposition to boycott the legislature—the ruling party proceeded with the appointment. Mikheil Kavelashvili was their sole candidate.
Who is Kavelashvili
Kavelashvili, a former footballer with a modest career, is perhaps best known for his three seasons with Manchester City in the late 1990s (three goals in 28 matches). After retiring from football in 2006, he entered politics a decade later, joining Georgian Dream in 2016. In 2022, he left the party, co-founding the far-right, national-conservative group People’s Power.
Known for his strong anti-Western stance, Kavelashvili’s acceptance speech reinforced these views. He accused the pro-EU opposition of being manipulated by the United States, which he claimed had “an insatiable desire to destroy our country.” He also alleged that the opposition sought “a violent revolution and the Ukrainianisation of Georgia.”
On 14 December, Kavelashvili was chosen as Zourabichvili’s successor by the Electoral College with 100% of the 224 valid votes cast—thanks to Georgian Dream’s control of the process. No European leader has yet congratulated Georgia’s new de facto president, not even Viktor Orbán, a close ally of Georgian Dream.
The protests in Georgia
In the streets, Kavelashvili is widely regarded as a “puppet president,” with protesters claiming he is controlled by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili and Vladimir Putin. Zourabichvili has openly aligned herself with the demonstrators, declaring that she will not leave office until “free and democratic” elections are held and Parliament reflects the “legitimate will” of the voters.
Protests in Tbilisi and other cities have reached historic proportions. For 18 consecutive nights, tens of thousands have braved freezing temperatures to rally against the ruling party and Kavelashvili’s presidency. Over the weekend of 13–15 December, the protests gained new momentum with organised demonstrations by diverse groups–including lawyers, students, artists, and even wine producers and mountaineers. Each group took turns marching down Rustaveli Avenue to Parliament, adding strength and unity to the movement.
The protesters’ demands include new elections supervised by an independent international administration and an end to the “regime” led by Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream. During the Electoral College session on 14 December, a group of young protesters brought dozens of footballs to Parliament, playing in the street to mock the Kavelashvili’s lack of qualifications. “If someone whose only merit is being a footballer can be president, then we are all professional footballers too,” said Anna, a university student, kicking a ball outside Parliament.
Tensions came to a head over the planned lighting of a large Christmas tree outside Parliament, a symbolic event orchestrated by Mayor Kaladze. Despite weeks of violent crackdowns on protesters—including the use of water cannons and teargas—Kaladze insisted the tree-lighting was “a matter of principle” and scheduled it provocatively for the day of the presidential appointment.
However, protesters’ sheer numbers forced a last-minute postponement. By 7:00 pm, when the ceremony was supposed to begin, the tree remained dark. For many, this small victory marked a turning point—a peaceful yet powerful demonstration of resistance against the ruling party. As the evening unfolded, Zourabichvili made a surprise visit to the square, addressing the crowd and solidifying her role as a leader of the opposition. “Your safety is my priority, and I am with you,” she told the protesters.
The chant of “Salomé, Salomé, Salomé” echoed through the crowd, reaffirming her popularity among those calling for change. As Georgia faces a critical moment in its history, Zourabichvili has positioned herself as a unifying figure in the fight for legitimate governance and democratic reforms.
