Georgia's pro-Russia ruling party plans to nominate a far-right supporter as president on Saturday in a controversial election process amid a deepening constitutional crisis and weeks of mass pro-EU protests.
The Black Sea country has been in turmoil since the ruling Georgian Dream party declared victory in a disputed parliamentary election in October.
Last month's decision to postpone EU accession negotiations sparked a new wave of mass gatherings.
The opposition condemned Saturday's election as “unjust” and said incumbent president Salome Zurabichvili remains the country's only legitimate leader.
The pro-Western Zurabishvili, who is at odds with the Georgian Dream, has refused to resign and is demanding new parliamentary elections that would pave the way for a constitutional showdown.
On Saturday morning, demonstrators began gathering outside the parliament building, which was cordoned off by police.
The electoral college, controlled by Georgian Dream and boycotted by the opposition, was convened by parliament and installed former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili as president.
Demonstrators shared tea to keep warm on the freezing morning and saw water cannons placed nearby, an AFP reporter saw.
“Georgia will never lose its sense of humor to celebrate the election of a football player as president,” Zurabishvili wrote on social media.
She shared video footage of protesters playing soccer in the snow, which was an obvious jab at Kavelashvili.
One demonstrator, 40-year-old Natia Apkhazava, said she arrived early “to protect Europe's future.”
“Our [parliamentary] The election was rigged. We need new elections,” she said.
“We have been protesting here for 16 days…and we will continue to fight for the future of Europe.”
Protests are scheduled to take place in more than a dozen locations in Tbilisi.
Thousands of pro-EU demonstrators filled the streets of the capital Tbilisi on Friday, then rallied outside parliament for the 16th day in a row.
Zurabishvili, a former diplomat, is a hugely popular figure among protesters, who see her as a harbinger of Georgia's European ambitions.
“What will happen in parliament tomorrow is a parody. It will be a completely illegitimate, unconstitutional and illegal event,” Zurabishvili said at a press conference on Friday.
Rebels accuse Georgian Dream of rigging the October 26 parliamentary vote, rolling back democracy and moving Tbilisi closer to Russia, all of which are linked to the constitutional Caucasian state. efforts to join the EU.
Kavelashvili, 53, is the only candidate for the largely ceremonial post, but is known for his fierce anti-Western accusations and opposition to LGBTQ rights.
Georgian Dream abolished direct presidential elections in 2017.
With Zurabishvili refusing to step down, opposition members boycotting parliament and protests showing no signs of abating, Kavelashvili's presidency is likely to be undermined from the start.
Vakhtan Kumaradze, one of the authors of Georgia's constitution, claimed that all decisions by the new parliament were invalid.
He explained that this was because the office of newly elected members was approved before the outcome of a lawsuit brought by the incumbent president contesting the election.
“Georgia is facing an unprecedented constitutional crisis,” Kumaradze said.
It remains unclear how the government will react to Zurabishvili's refusal to resign after his successor takes office on December 29.
Police fired tear gas and water cannon and arrested more than 400 demonstrators during more than two weeks of demonstrations, according to the NGO Social Justice Center.
On Friday, Amnesty International said protesters were facing “brutal dispersal tactics, arbitrary detention and torture.”
There were also attacks on opposition parties' offices and arrests of their leaders.
Amid international condemnation of the police crackdown, French President Emmanuel Macron told Georgians: “We must not extinguish our European dream.”
“We are by your side to support your European and democratic aspirations,” he said in a video address.
Earlier this week, President Macron called Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the Georgian Dream. This person is a tycoon who is widely considered to be Georgia's real power broker.
His decision to summon Ivanishvili rather than Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze shows that Western countries are reluctant to recognize the legitimacy of the new Georgian Dream government.
The US government also imposed new sanctions on Georgian officials, banning visas for about 20 people accused of “undermining Georgia's democracy,” including ministers and members of parliament.
