former Manchester City player elected president

Former Georgian international footballer Mikhail Kavelashvili (46 caps, 9 goals), played by Manchester City and Basel, was elected president of his country this Saturday. Supported by the pro-Russian party “Georgian dream“, he was the only candidate in the running and obtained 224 votes out of 225. For the first time in the history of this former Soviet republic in the Caucasus, the president was not elected by direct universal suffrage, but designated by a college of voters dominated by the ruling party.

The rest after this ad

After entering politics in 2016 by becoming a deputy under the colors of the ruling party, Kavelashvili co-founded in 2022 “Power to the people», a populist group where he has held the position of political secretary since March 2024. Former player agent after the end of his career in 2007, he tried, unsuccessfully, to run for the presidency of the Georgian Football Federation in 2015, being deemed ineligible due to lack of required diploma. His arrival to power comes in the midst of a political crisis surrounding his nation’s accession to the European Union.