Salome Zurabishvili was sworn in as the president of Georgia on December 16 after she won a runoff last month. The French-born candidate supported by the ruling Georgian Dream party becomes the first woman to hold the office in the Caucasian country. Outgoing President Giorgi Margvelashvili and the ailing Patriarch Ilia II, head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, also took part in the inauguration ceremony in the historic town of Telavi. </s> (VELISTSIKHE, Georgia) — The first woman president of Georgia has been sworn into office amid continued protests from opposition figures who allege her election was tainted.

President Salome Zurabishvili said during her inauguration speech on Sunday that she would work “to promote our country’s integration process into NATO and the EU.”

Opposition activists clashed with police after authorities blocked access to the inauguration’s venue in the city of Telavi.

Zurabishvili, a French-born former foreign minister, won a November 28 runoff against opposition candidate Grigol Vashadze. The government favored her in the race.

The opposition alleges gross electoral violations occurred during the presidential election that make the outcome illegitimate.

Observers for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have said the government was overly involved in the election campaign. </s> President-elect Salome Zurabishvili was sworn into office on Sunday in Telavi, Georgia. A former foreign minister, she was backed by the ruling Georgia Dream-Democratic Georgia Party and won nearly 60 percent of the votes in a runoff against Grigol Vashadze on November 28. A number of supporters of former President Mikheil Saakshvili were involved in scuffles with police as they were heading to Telavi to hold a protest rally there. </s> VELISTSIKHE, GEORGIA—The first woman president of Georgia has been sworn into office amid continued protests from opposition figures who allege her election was tainted.

President Salome Zurabishvili said during her inauguration speech on Sunday that she would work "to promote our country's integration process into NATO and the EU." </s> In an exclusive interview, the country's President-elect and first woman head of state, Salome Zurabishvili, told Euronews that aggression from Vladimir Putin on that border has never stopped.

"We have an occupying line, within Georgian territory, that is moving every day," she asserted.

Zurabishvili also told us that her priority was to bring Georgia closer to Europe.

"I've been elected by a society that wants more Europe," she said.

Zurabishvili had 59% of the vote and her rival candidate Grigol Vashadze took 40%, with nearly all ballots counted.

However, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe says the process was undermined

The OSCE said on Thursday that one in the presidential election had enjoyed "an undue advantage".

"The second round of Georgia’s presidential election was competitive and candidates were able to campaign freely, however one side enjoyed an undue advantage and the negative character of the campaign on both sides undermined the process."

WATCH the interview above for more. </s> (Civil.Ge) — Salome Zurabishvili, 66, was sworn in as Georgia’s fifth president for a six-year term on December 16 in an oath-taking ceremony in the eastern Georgian town of Telavi.

“I, the President of Georgia, before the God and the Nation, declare to observe the Constitution of Georgia, defend the independence, unity and indivisibility of the country, to perform faithfully the duties of the President, to take care for the security and welfare of the citizens of my country and for the revival and might of my nation and homeland,” Zurabishvili said, holding her hand on the Georgian constitution.

After the oath-taking, Zurabishvili delivered the inauguration speech in presence of invited guests, foreign dignitaries, government members and lawmakers from the ruling party and Georgian soldiers. President Giorgi Margvelashvili attended the ceremony as well.

The oath-taking ceremony marked entry into force of the new constitution, which completes the country’s transition from semi-presidential to parliamentary system of governance.

The new constitution will further reduce president’s executive powers, a process launched in the 2010 constitutional amendments and finalized in the 2017 constitutional changes.

This also marked the last time the head of state was elected through direct ballot. According to the new constitution, which entered into force upon Zurabishvili’s inauguration, the head of state will be elected by a 300-member Electoral College for a term of five years starting from 2024.

A day before the oath-taking ceremony, on December 15, President-elect Salome Zurabishvili laid a wreath at the memorial of fallen Georgian soldiers at Heroes’ Square in Tbilisi. She also visited the Mtatsminda Pantheon, a cemetery of public figures in Tbilisi.

The Presidential runoff was held on November 28. The ruling party-backed candidate Salome Zurabishvili obtained 59.52% of the votes, while her challenger – Grigol Vashadze of the United Opposition finished with 40.48% of the votes. Vashadze did not accept the election results, citing mass election fraud. </s> Telavi, Georgia: Georgia on Sunday swore in its first female president, Salome Zurabishvili as opposition parties continue to denounce her election as fraudulent and demand snap parliamentary polls.



The inauguration paved the way for a new constitution to come into force, transforming the country into a parliamentary republic with a largely ceremonial president.

The event was held in the mediaeval town of Telavi in Georgia´s eastern winemaking region of Kakheti.

French-born Zurabishvili, 66, took the oath of office in the courtyard of an 18th-century manor that belonged to Georgia´s penultimate king Heraclius II.

"The goal of my presidency is to make Georgia´s democratic development and its path towards Europe irreversible," she said in an inaugural speech.

"I will facilitate this process with the support of our strategic partner, the United States of America, and our European friends," she said.

Opposition parties have refused to recognise Zurabishvili´s election last month and tried to hold a protest rally outside the royal residence.

But the plan was thwarted by police, who on Sunday morning blocked a kilometres-long opposition motorcade on a road leading from the capital Tbilisi to Telavi.

Pro-opposition Rustavi-2 TV channel reported that clashes briefly erupted between police officers and protesters as they tried to break through police ranks.

"Georgian Dream has taken away our constitution, our state institutions, our freedom of expression," defeated candidate Grigol Vashadze told journalists after a failed attempt to stage a protest in Telavi.

Vashadze was the candidate of an 11-party opposition alliance led by exiled former president Mikheil Saakashvili´s United National Movement.

Zurabishvili was backed in the election by the ruling Georgian Dream party of Georgia´s ex-premier and billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Ivanishvili, Georgia´s richest man, stepped down as prime minister in 2013 after just a year in office but is still widely believed to be Georgia´s de facto ruler. His critics accuse him of "state capture" as his loyalists hold key cabinet posts.

Former French diplomat Zurabishvili has said her election was a step forward for women and a move closer to Europe.

But opposition parties have refused to accept the result, pointing to instances of alleged vote-buying, multiple voting, voter intimidation, and ballot-stuffing in the November 28 election.

On December 2, thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets in Tbilisi against the election result, demanding snap parliamentary polls.

Georgia´s leading rights groups denounced the electoral irregularities, which the US State Department said were "not consistent with the country´s commitment to fully fair and transparent elections."

Observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said that while the election was "competitive" and candidates campaigned freely, it was concerned over "the misuse of state resources" by the ruling party.

In what critics derided as "vote-buying" ahead of the election, Ivanishvili promised the government would drastically increase social spending and pledged to spend his own money to write off the bank loans of more than 600,000 people.

Zurabishvili was born in France to a Georgian family who fled the Bolshevik regime to Paris in 1921.

She studied international relations at the prestigious Paris Institute of Political Sciences before a 30-year career as a French diplomat, with postings to the United Nations, Washington and Chad.

Her career in French diplomacy culminated in a posting to Tbilisi, where then-president Saakashvili appointed her as foreign minister.

But Zurabishvili quickly made enemies in the ranks of the parliamentary majority, with MPs and a number of senior diplomats publicly accusing her of arrogance.

She was sacked in 2005 after a year on the job, though thousands took to the streets of the capital to protest her dismissal.

She then joined the opposition as a member of parliament and became one of Saakashvili´s fiercest critics.

In her book "A Woman for Two Countries", published in France after her firing, she wrote: "Now, I have to engage in a political battle, which has never attracted me, which I never practised, which is being imposed on me."

Zurabishvili will be Georgia´s last directly elected president as the country transitions to a parliamentary form of governance following a controversial constitutional reform.

The Caucasus country´s next president will be elected in 2024 by a 300-member electoral college.

Adopted in September 2017, the constitutional change was protested by all opposition parties which denounced it as favouring the ruling party. </s> TELAVI, Georgia: Georgia on Sunday swore in its first female president, Salome Zurabishvili as opposition parties continue to denounce her election as fraudulent and demand snap parliamentary polls.

The inauguration paved the way for a new constitution to come into force, transforming the country into a parliamentary republic with a largely ceremonial president. The event was held in the mediaeval town of Telavi in Georgia´s eastern winemaking region of Kakheti.

French-born Zurabishvili, 66, took the oath of office in the courtyard of an 18th-century manor that belonged to Georgia´s penultimate king Heraclius II. "The goal of my presidency is to make Georgia´s democratic development and its path towards Europe irreversible," she said in an inaugural speech.

"I will facilitate this process with the support of our strategic partner, the United States of America, and our European friends," she said. Opposition parties have refused to recognise Zurabishvili´s election and tried to hold a protest rally outside the royal residence. But the plan was thwarted by police, who on Sunday morning blocked a kilometres-long opposition motorcade on a road leading from the capital Tbilisi to Telavi.

Pro-opposition Rustavi-2 TV channel reported that clashes briefly erupted between police officers and protesters as they tried to break through police ranks. Zurabishvili was elected as the ex-Soviet nation´s president last month.

She defeated Grigol Vashadze, the candidate of an 11-party opposition alliance led by exiled former president Mikheil Saakashvili´s United National Movement. She was backed in the election by the ruling Georgian Dream party of Georgia´s ex-premier and billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Ivanishvili, Georgia´s richest man, stepped down as prime minister in 2013 after just a year in office but is still widely believed to be Georgia´s de facto ruler. His critics accuse him of "state capture". Former French diplomat Zurabishvili has said her election was a step forward for women and a move closer to Europe. </s> TBILISI: Georgia has elected ruling party candidate Salome Zurabishvili as its first woman president, final results showed Thursday, but the opposition claimed fraud.

With all votes counted, the French-born ex-diplomat had taken 59.52 percent of the vote in Wednesday’s second round run-off, the election commission said.Her rival Grigol Vashadze, from an alliance of 11 opposition parties led by exiled ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement (UNM), won 40.48 percent.

The election was seen as a test of Georgia’s democratic credentials as the Caucasus nation seeks European Union and NATO membership.It was also a trial run for more important parliamentary elections in 2020, when the ruling Georgian Dream party is set to face off against a range of opposition parties.

Georgian Dream — the creation of billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili who many see as the country’s de facto ruler — backed Zurabishvili in the presidential vote.Ivanishvili’s great rival, the flamboyant ex-president Saakashvili, claimed “mass electoral fraud” even before official results were released.“The oligarch has stamped out Georgian democracy and the institutions of elections,” he said on the pro-opposition Rustavi-2 television channel, referring to Ivanishvili.
Voters in Georgia elect Salome Zurabishvili as president. She will be the first woman elected to hold the position when she assumes office on 16 December 2018.