The party has vowed to continue pushing toward accession in the European Union but also wants to “reset” ties with Russia. Georgia’s outgoing president and main pro-Western parties have boycotted the post-election parliamentary sessions and demanded ...

Thousands of Georgian protesters have formed a human chain in the capital, Tbilisi, ahead of a political showdown as the new president prepares to be sworn in. The inauguration of a new president - former Manchester City footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili, who is seen as an ally of the ruling Georgian Dream party - is due on Sunday.

Outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-EU opponent of the ruling party, said in a defiant speech to supporters outside the presidential palace that she was leaving the residence, but that Kavelashvili had no legitimacy as president,

Thousands protested in Georgia during President Mikheil Kavelashvili's inauguration amid a political crisis stemming from halted EU membership talks and accusations of electoral malpractice. Opposition parties rejected Kavelashvili's legitimacy.

Kavelashvili is a critic of the United States and the West. The country’s outgoing pro-EU president has declared the incoming president "illegitimate."

Georgia is gearing up for Sunday's inauguration of a ruling party loyalist as president, after his election was declared "illegitimate" by the outgoing leader and the pro-Western opposition. Mikheil Kavelashvili's inauguration is expected to further escalate the political crisis which has seen mass pro-EU demonstrations.