Georgia's electoral college votes to elect country’s 6th president

By Davit Kachkachishvili

TBILISI (AA) - Georgia’s 300 electoral college members began Saturday voting in parliament to elect the country’s sixth president.

Mikheil Kavelashvili is the sole candidate nominated by the ruling Georgian Dream Party.

In Georgia, which regained independence in 1991, the 6th president will be elected by a 300-member Electoral College following a constitutional amendment adopted in 2017.

The electoral college comprises 150 members of parliament, 20 members of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara, 20 members of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, and 109 representatives from local government bodies.

Some 61 opposition lawmakers are boycotting the voting process, as they refuse to recognize the results of the parliamentary elections held on Oct. 26.

At least 151 votes are required to elect the president.

The voting process, which began at 9.00 am local time (0500GMT) in Tbilisi, is expected to continue until 2.00 pm (1000GMT).

The results are anticipated to be announced within an hour after voting concludes.

On Friday, Georgia’s incumbent President Salome Zurabishvili said that that the parliamentary presidential election is not legitimate in her view.

"I am not going anywhere, and I will not hand over my office to anyone. I am here and will remain here," Zurabishvili added.

In response to her remarks, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said that the inauguration ceremony for the new president would take place on Dec. 29.

Papuashvili emphasized that Zurabishvili, accused of violating the constitution, must step down on Dec. 29.

Zurabishvili was elected as Georgia’s fifth and first female president on Nov. 28, 2018.

Meanwhile, protests are expected to take place later today by those opposing the election.

- Sole candidate

The ruling Georgian Dream Party nominated former footballer and lawmaker Mikheil Kavelashvili as a candidate for the presidential election on Nov. 27.

Kavelashvili, who played for the Georgian National Football Team between 1992 and 2002, entered parliament in 2016 as a member of the Georgian Dream Party.

In 2020, he was reelected as a lawmaker from the same party but left Georgian Dream on June 28, 2022, to establish the People's Power Party with other lawmakers.

Opposition parties, which do not recognize the results of the parliamentary elections held in October, have refused to field a candidate, deeming the presidential election illegitimate.

*Writing by Gizem Nisa Cebi