Mikhail Kavelashvili Elected as Georgia’s Sixth President

Mikhail Kavelashvili, a member of the ruling Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia party, has been elected as Georgia’s sixth president, securing 224 votes out of the 300-member electoral college. He needed a two-thirds majority to win in the first round of the election, which was held on Saturday, December 14. This marks a historic shift as this is the first time Georgia’s president has been elected by an electoral college, following constitutional amendments in 2018.

The official results were announced by Giorgi Kalandarishvili, Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), who confirmed Kavelashvili’s victory and signed the final election protocol. Kavelashvili, a former footballer and ex-member of parliament, was the only candidate put forward by the Georgian Dream party. The opposition, having boycotted the October parliamentary vote and ongoing legislative processes, did not put forward any candidates and refrained from participating in the election.

The electoral college consists of 300 members, including parliamentarians, as well as representatives from the Supreme Councils of Adjara and Abkhazia, and local government deputies. Kavelashvili’s inauguration is scheduled for December 29, and he will serve a five-year term.