Former football player and far-right politician Mikheil Kavelashvili is on the verge of becoming the next ceremonial president of Georgia through an indirect election that the current pro-European leader has denounced as “illegitimate.”
Appointed by the ruling Georgian Dream party for his allegiance, the ex-Manchester City striker is notorious for his profane speeches in parliament and outbursts against government critics and the LGBTQ community.
He is expected to be elected by an electoral college overseen by the party following the party’s contentious constitutional changes in 2017 that replaced direct popular presidential voting.
Kavelashvili’s ascent to this position comes during unrest, as thousands of anti-government protesters have gathered in Tbilisi for weeks, furious with Georgian Dream for suspending discussions on EU accession.
Demonstrators have branded Kavelashvili a “puppet” of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of Georgian Dream, who has described him as “the embodiment of a Georgian man.”
Kavelashvili’s comments regarding LGBTQ individuals have raised concerns, particularly as Georgian Dream has enacted laws similar to those in the Kremlin that curb their rights.
The former player has criticised the West for promoting “as many people as possible (to be) neutral and tolerant toward the LGBTQ ideology, which supposedly defends the weak but is, in fact, an act against humanity.”
