Georgia鈥檚 first female president sworn in amid opposition protest
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Georgia yesterday swore in its first female president, Salome Zurabishvili, as opposition parties continue to denounce her election as fraudulent and demand snap parliamentary polls.
The inauguration paved the way for a new constitution to come into force, transforming the country into a parliamentary republic with a largely ceremonial president.
The event was held in the medieval town of Telavi in Georgia鈥檚 eastern winemaking region of Kakheti.
French-born Zurabishvili, 66, took the oath of office in the courtyard of an 18th-century manor that belonged to Georgia鈥檚 penultimate king Heraclius II.
鈥淭he goal of my presidency is to make Georgia鈥檚 democratic development and its path toward Europe irreversible,鈥 she said in an inaugural speech.
鈥淚 will facilitate this process with the support of our strategic partner, the United States of America, and our European friends,鈥 she said.
Opposition parties have refused to recognize Zurabishvili鈥檚 election and tried to hold a protest rally outside the royal residence. But the plan was thwarted by police, who yesterday morning blocked a kilometers-long opposition motorcade on a road leading from the capital Tbilisi to Telavi.
Pro-opposition Rustavi-2 TV channel reported that clashes briefly erupted between police and protesters as they tried to break through police ranks.
Zurabishvili was elected as Georgia鈥檚 president last month. She defeated Grigol Vashadze, the candidate of an 11-party opposition alliance led by exiled former president Mikheil Saakashvili鈥檚 United National Movement.
She was backed in the election by the ruling Georgian Dream party of Georgia鈥檚 ex-premier and billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Ivanishvili, Georgia鈥檚 richest man, stepped down as prime minister in 2013 after just a year in office but is still widely believed to be Georgia鈥檚 de facto ruler. His critics accuse him of 鈥渟tate capture.鈥
Ex-French diplomat Zurabishvili has said her election was a step forward for women and a move closer to Europe. But opposition parties have refused to accept the result, pointing to instances of alleged vote-buying, multiple voting, voter intimidation, and ballot-stuffing in the November 28 election.
Zurabishvili was born in France to a Georgian family who fled to Paris in 1921. She studied international relations at the Paris Institute of Political Sciences before a 30-year career as a French diplomat.
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