CNN —Georgian lawmakers voted in a far-right former soccer star as the country’s next president on Saturday, amid mounting popular anger over the government’s halt to EU accession talks.
Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, is a former MP for the ruling Georgian Dream party and played for the English soccer team Manchester City during the 1990s.
It is not clear how Georgian Dream will respond if Zourabichvili refuses to leave office.
President Salome Zourabichvili walks outside the parliament building as deputies vote to elect a new president.
Georgian Dream – already 12 years in office – claimed victory, but observers say the vote was neither free nor fair.
Persons:
Mikheil Kavelashvili, Kavelashvili, Vano Shlamov, Salome Zourabichvili, “, ” Zourabichvili, Zourabichvili, Critics, Natalie Sabanadze, ”, Sabanadze, Daro Sulakauri, –, Irakli Kobakhidze
Organizations:
CNN, Georgian, soccer, Manchester City, Reuters, West, Kremlin, European Union, EU, Getty, country’s Ministry, Internal Affairs
Locations:
Georgian, Tbilisi, South Caucasus, Russia, AFP, Georgia, Europe, Brussels