Ex-Premier League footballer becomes Georgia’s president in victory for Putin after weeks of protests against regime

A FORMER Premier League footballer has been appointed president of Georgia in a victory for mad Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, was a striker for Manchester City between 1996 and 1997 who went on to play for several clubs in the Swiss Super League.

He was elected to parliament back in 2016 and in 2022 co-founded the People's Power political movement.

This was allied with the ruling party dubbed Georgian Dream, which became renowned for its strong far-right and anti-West rhetoric.

Kavelashvili easily won the vote as the Georgian Dream party controls the 300-seat electoral college.

This replaced direct presidential elections 2017.

It's made up of members of Parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures.

Georgian Dream has vowed to continue pushing toward EU accession but also wants to reset ties with Russia.

In 2008 Russia fought a brief war with Georgia, which led to Moscow's recognition of two breakaway regions as independent, and an increase in the Russian military presence in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Critics have accused Georgian Dream, established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia, of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow.

These are accusations the ruling party has denied.

The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

The opposition denounced Saturday's election as "illegitimate" and said the sitting president, Salome Zurabishvili remains the country's sole legitimate leader.

Pro-Western Zurabishvili - who is in heated disagreements with Georgian Dream - has refused to step down.

She is demanding new parliamentary elections, paving the way for a constitutional showdown.

On Saturday morning, protesters began gathering outside the parliament building, which was cordoned off by police, ahead of a rally scheduled for the evening.

Protests are scheduled to take place at around a dozen locations in Tbilisi.

Thousands of pro-EU demonstrators filled the streets of the capital on Friday before gathering outside parliament for the 16th consecutive day.

It comes after riot cops fired tear gas and beat up men as they battled raging protesters who gathered across Georgia for numerous nights of violence prior to the election.

Brutal clashes erupted outside Georgia's parliament as thousands of demonstrators protested the government's decision to delay European Union membership.

More than 100 people were arrested as crowds clashed with riot cops armed with tear gas bombs.

Dramatic footage captured protesters hurling fireworks at masked officers in riot gear who were firing rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons to disperse the masses.

Flames were seen coming from a window of the parliament building as protestors erected barricades on Tbilisi's main avenue.

Many were chased and beaten by police as demonstrators rallied in front of the country's parliament building.

Georgia plunged into crisis when the country's newly-elected government put a pause on its long-standing bid to join the EU until 2028.