TBILISI, Dec 14, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Georgian ex-footballer turned far-right
politician Mikheil Kavelashvili is set to become Tbilisi's next figurehead
president in an indirect election Saturday, denounced as "illegitimate" by
the current pro-EU leader.

Picked by the governing Georgian Dream party as a loyalist, the former
forward for English Premier League champions Manchester City is known for his
expletive-laden parliament speeches and tirades against government critics
and LGBTQ people.

He is expected to be voted into the role by an electoral college controlled
by Georgian Dream, after the party abolished the use of popular votes to
elect the president under controversial constitutional changes passed in
2017.

Kavelashvili is the only presidential candidate and he will likely assume his
new position amid ongoing social upheaval: thousands of anti-government
protesters have flooded Tbilisi for weeks, furious at Georgian Dream for
shelving EU accession talks.

Protesters have described Kavelashvili as a "puppet" of billionaire Bidzina
Ivanishvili, Georgian Dream's founder, who in turn has called him "the
embodiment of a Georgian man".

Sporting a moustache and combed-back hair, his comments on LGBTQ people have
raised alarm, as has Georgian Dream's adoption of Kremlin-style laws curbing
their rights.

The ex-footballer slammed the West for wanting "as many people as possible
(to be) neutral and tolerant towards the LGBTQ ideology, which supposedly
defends the weak but is, in fact, an act against humanity".

- Football roots -

Born in Georgia's tiny southwestern town of Bolnisi in 1971, Kavelashvili
began his career as a professional footballer in the 1980s, playing for clubs
in Georgia and Russia and becoming a striker for his country's national team.

The 53-year-old played for Manchester City from 1995 to 1997, scoring on his
debut against bitter crosstown rivals Manchester United.

He then joined Swiss club Grasshoppers, where he spent most of his time on
the bench, before stints elsewhere in Switzerland at Zurich, Luzern, Sion,
Aarau and Basel.

Kavelashvili was disqualified from running for president of the Georgian
Football Federation in 2015 due to a lack of higher education -- a
requirement for the role.

He has served as an MP for Georgian Dream since 2016 and was elected to the
legislature on the party's list in October 2024 polls that opposition groups
say were rigged and have refused to recognise.

In 2022, Kavelashvili, alongside other Georgian Dream lawmakers, established
a parliamentary faction called People's Power -- an anti-Western group that
officially split from the governing party but was widely seen as its
satellite.

His political affiliations align with far-right ideologies.

- 'Oligarch's puppet' -

He is known for obscenity-laced statements against opponents and has accused
Western leaders of trying to drag Georgia into Russia's war on Ukraine.

Georgian Dream nominated Kavelashvili for the largely ceremonial post in late
November, aiming to strengthen its grip on power.

But the nomination outraged many in Georgia, especially those who have been
taking to the streets daily for two weeks to protest against Georgian Dream
drifting from its aim of joining the EU.

On the 14th day of mass protests this week, demonstrators did not hold back
in expressing their disdain for Kavelashvili.

"I can hardly imagine anyone less suited for the role of head of state,"
historian Nika Gobronidze, 53, told AFP.

He said Ivanishvili, the businessman widely believed to be pulling the
strings in Georgian politics, chose Kavelashvili as a tool he could control.

"Caligula wanted his horse to be a consul, our oligarch wants his puppet
Kavelashvili to be a president," he said, referring to the notorious Roman
emperor.

- 'Illegitimate' -

The new electoral process makes it a foregone conclusion that Kavelashvili
will be the next president, with incumbent Salome Zurabishvili set to be
removed from office.

But Kavelashvili will see his legitimacy undermined from the onset, with
constitutional law experts -- including an author of Georgia's constitution,
Vakhtang Khmaladze -- saying the election will be "illegitimate".

Tbilisi is currently engulfed in a constitutional crisis, with Zurabishvili
demanding a re-run of October's national elections.

Parliament had approved its own credentials in violation of a legal
requirement to await a court decision on Zurabishvili's bid to have the
election results annulled.

Zurabishvili has declared the new parliament and government "illegitimate"
and vowed not to step down at the end of her term on December 29 if Georgian
Dream does not organise a fresh vote.