Georgia’s First Female President Sworn In

Georgia on Sunday 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 mediaeval town of Telavi in Georgia ’ s eastern winemaking region of Kakheti .

French -born Zurabishvili , 66 , took the oath of office in the courtyard of an 18 th -century manor that belonged to Georgia ’ s penultimate king Heraclius II .

“The goal of my presidency is to make Georgia ’ s democratic development and its path towards Europe irreversible , ” she said in an inaugural speech.

“I will facilitate this process with the support of our strategic partner, the United States of America , and our European friends, ” she said.

Opposition parties have refused to recognise Zurabishvili ’ s election and tried to hold a protest rally outside the royal residence .

But the plan was thwarted by police , who on Sunday morning blocked a kilometres -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 officers and protesters as they tried to break through police ranks.
– Election irregularities –

Zurabishvili was elected as the ex – Soviet nation’ s president last month .

She defeated Grigol Vashadze , the candidate of an 11 -party opposition alliance led by exiled former president Mikheil Saakashvili ’ s United National Movement .

She was backed in the election by the ruling Georgian Dream party of Georgia ’ s ex -premier and billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili .

Ivanishvili , Georgia ’ s richest man , stepped down as prime minister in 2013 after just a year in office but is still widely believed to be Georgia ’ s de facto ruler . His critics accuse him of “ state capture. ”

Former 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 .

On December 2 , thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets in Tbilisi against the election result , demanding snap parliamentary polls.

Georgia ’ s leading rights groups denounced the electoral irregularities , which the US State Department said were “ not consistent with the country ’ s commitment to fully fair and transparent elections . ”

Observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said that while the election was “competitive ” and candidates campaigned freely , it was concerned over “the misuse of state resources ” by the ruling party.

In what critics derided as “ vote -buying ” ahead of the election , Ivanishvili promised the government would drastically increase social spending and pledged to spend his own money to write off the bank loans of more than 600 , 000 people.
– Daughter of refugees –

Zurabishvili was born in France to a Georgian family who fled the Bolshevik regime to Paris in 1921.

She studied international relations at the prestigious Paris Institute of Political Sciences before a 30 -year career as a French diplomat , with postings to the United Nations , Washington and Chad .

Her career in French diplomacy culminated in a posting to Tbilisi , where then- president Saakashvili appointed her as foreign minister.

But Zurabishvili quickly made enemies in the ranks of the parliamentary majority , with MPs and a number of senior diplomats publicly accusing her of arrogance.

She was sacked in 2005 after a year on the job , though thousands took to the streets of the capital to protest her dismissal .

She then joined the opposition as a member of parliament and became one of Saakashvili ’ s fiercest critics .

In her book “ A Woman for Two Countries ”, published in France after her firing , she wrote : “Now , I have to engage in a political battle , which has never attracted me, which I never practised , which is being imposed on me . ”

Zurabishvili will be Georgia ’ s last directly elected president as the country transitions to a parliamentary form of governance following a controversial constitutional reform .

The Caucasus country ’ s next president will be elected in 2024 by a 300 -member electoral college .

Adopted in September 2017, the constitutional change was protested by all opposition parties which denounced it as favouring the ruling party .


( AFP )