Georgia's new president, Mihail Kavelashvili, loyal to the ruling party, was sworn in today to replace outgoing pro-European head of state Salome Zourabishvili, in a new episode of the country's two-month-long political crisis.
Kavelashvili, a former soccer player known for his ultra-conservative and anti-Western views, was inaugurated as Georgia's president in a brief ceremony in Parliament.
Minutes earlier, Zurabishvili announced to her supporters gathered outside the presidential palace that she would leave the palace but still consider herself "the only legitimate president of the country," vowing to continue the fight against the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Several thousand pro-European demonstrators gathered this morning in front of the presidential palace at the invitation of the outgoing president. Demonstrators were also present last night in Tbilisi at a protest against the government ahead of the inauguration of the new president of that Caucasian country, whose appointment is contested by the opposition.
Georgia has been hit by a political crisis since October parliamentary elections, which were won by the Georgian Dream party, but the pro-Western opposition contested the results due to election irregularities.
Demonstrators are demanding new elections and the release of persons detained during the protests
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