Curfew: About Georgia politics

The election of former soccer player Mikhail Kavelashvili as Georgia’s president could deepen the political crisis in the white country, which has seen a spate of street protests and crackdowns. Kavelashvili, a conservative leader and critic of the West, was opposed by the domestic opposition and his predecessor Salome Zurabichvili. Zurabichvili had previously said there would be “no inauguration” for Kavelashvili, but he denounced Kavelashvili’s oath as a “parody” and announced he was stepping down “voluntarily.” She later took part in an opposition protest outside parliament. The latest impact of the crisis dates back to October’s parliamentary elections. The ruling conservative Georgian Dream party, which has a foreign policy skeptical of the West and calls for stronger ties with Russia and China, won. The opposition demanded new elections, claiming that the election was fraudulent, but Georgian Dream forced its way to form a government. Among those who criticized the legitimacy of the election was the pro-Western Zurabichvili. The sitting president’s support for anti-government protests challenging the veracity of opinion polls was evidence of deep political divisions. But the ruling party was undeterred and elected Mr. Kavelashvili as president based on a new system: an electoral college made up of members of parliament and other local councils.

Georgia’s crisis looks like a political tug of war between the ruling party and the opposition. However, the real situation is more complex. Georgia is a former Soviet republic and a strategically important country bordering Russia. In 2008, months after NATO membership was promised, Russia invaded NATO in the name of defending two breakaway regions. Tbilisi’s leaders were generally pro-Western. However, this trend changed with the rise of Georgian Dream, founded in 2012 by billionaire businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili. The closeness of Tbilisi and Moscow was not popular in Western capitals. When allegations of election fraud surfaced, Western countries immediately supported the opposition. In November, amid tensions with the West, the Georgian government suspended EU accession negotiations until 2028, sparking further street protests reminiscent of the pro-Western Maidan protests in Ukraine in 2014. The United States imposed sanctions on Mr. Ivanishvili last week. Georgia’s rulers say the West is pushing the country into conflict with Russia, which they do not want. They also point out that the country’s Constitutional Court rejected a lawsuit filed by Zurabichvili seeking to annul the election results. Georgia politicians should resolve their differences. They should keep in mind the tragedy in Ukraine and seek common ground to end the political crisis. The best thing outsiders can do is stay out of Georgia politics.