Georgia’s crisis is deepening with the election of former footballer Mikhail Kabelashvili as president.

A former Manchester City footballer has been appointed president by a controversial parliament after 17 days of anti-EU protests that swept Georgia’s towns and cities.

Mikheil Kavelashvili, now 53, is a former member of parliament for the increasingly authoritarian ruling Georgian Dream party and was the only candidate for the position.

On Saturday, 224 of Georgia’s 225 electors voted for him.

The four main opposition parties boycotted parliament, rejecting Kavelashvili and claiming elections held in October were rigged.

Faced with sub-zero temperatures, scores of protesters gathered outside parliament in the early hours of Saturday morning ahead of the vote.

Georgia’s outgoing pro-Western president, Salome Zoravichvili, called Kavelashvili’s election a travesty and insisted she had the only remaining legitimate institutions in the country.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused Zourabichvili of trying to harm Georgia’s interests and stressed that she should retire when her term ends on December 29.

“We have very strong state institutions, so we will have no difficulty in taking full control of the situation,” he said on Friday.

Party colleague Nino Tsilosani told reporters that Zourabichvili is no longer president in the public’s eyes.

Protests against the Georgian Dream began immediately after the October election, but exploded on November 28 when the government announced that EU accession talks would be put on hold until 2028.

An overwhelming majority of Georgians support the country’s path to the European Union, which is part of the constitution.

Every night the main roads outside parliament are filled with protesters draped in EU flags, demanding new elections.

The night before the vote, the capital Tbilisi was rocked by pop-up protests involving IT professionals, public sector workers, creative industry professionals, actors and lawyers.

“We are here to create a fully legal state that respects the constitution and human rights provisions,” said lawyer Davit Kikareishvili, 47.

Kabelashvili is the founder of the People Power Party, known as the main voice of anti-Western propaganda in Georgia.

He accused the opposition of acting as a “fifth column” directing foreign affairs and described President Djuravichvili as its “main agent.”

Kabelashvili entered politics after being disqualified from seeking leadership of the Georgian Football Federation due to lack of qualifications.

His party ran alongside Georgian Dream in the October elections, but has now decided to act as a “healthy opposition” in parliament to fill the seats of the “so-called radical opposition funded by foreign powers.”

People Power Party lawmaker Ghuram Macharashvili, who announced on December 13 that his faction would withdraw from the ruling parliamentary majority, told the BBC that what was happening in the country was “an artificially created crisis characterized by foreign influence.” said.

Macharashvili and Kavelashvili are the architects of Georgia’s controversial “foreign agents” law, which Georgia’s opponents see as Russian-style legislation.

Asked what “healthy opposition” means, Macharashvili said: “Opposition does not necessarily mean opposition on all issues, nor does it only mean cooperation with foreigners. It means more about the best way forward for Georgia’s future.” “It means competing with the ruling party to come up with a better proposal,” he said. “

Georgian Dream, founded by billionaire businessman and former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has been accused of dragging Georgia back into Russia’s sphere of influence.

Both the EU and the United States have accused the government of democratic backsliding, and more than 460 people have been detained across Georgia in the past two weeks, according to Transparency International.

More than 300 people, including dozens working in Georgian media, have been abused or tortured, the group said. Last weekend, thugs were filmed attacking a TV reporter and cameraman.

that EU condemned ‘Brutal and illegal forces of the police’ and foreign ministers will consider action against the government at a meeting on Monday.

that The US State Department has already imposed visa restrictions. About Georgian civil servants, including government ministers and police officers.

Protesters called on the international community to impose sanctions on Georgia’s most powerful figure, Bizina Ivanishvili, and senior government officials.

Pro-government groups also launched a campaign of harassment against civil society activists, including beatings and arbitrary arrests outside their homes.

“Systematic torture and inhumane and degrading treatment are being inflicted on citizens,” said former public defender Nino Romzaria.

Theater employees protesting on Friday chanted, “Police are everywhere, but justice is nowhere.”