TBILISI, Georgia — The governing party in Georgia on Wednesday picked a former soccer player as its candidate for president following a disputed victory in last month's parliamentary election that has sparked protests and led to an opposition boycott of parliament.
The Georgian Dream party nominated Mikheil Kavelashvili, a 53-year-old former national team and Premier League player, for the mostly ceremonial presidential post. He is all but certain to win the Dec. 14 vote by the electoral college controlled by the ruling party.
Georgian Dream retained control of the parliament in the Oct. 26 election, widely seen as a referendum on the country's effort to join the European Union. The opposition said the vote was rigged under the influence of Russia seeking to keep Georgia in its orbit, and declared a boycott of parliament.
European election observers said the balloting took place in a ''divisive'' atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.
President Salome Zourabichvili, who has rejected the official results and refused to recognize the parliament's legitimacy, on Monday snubbed the parliament's opening session along with opposition parties.
Zourabichvili, whose six-year term expires next month, was elected by popular vote, but Georgia has approved constitutional changes that abolished the direct election of the president and replaced it with a vote by a 300-seat electoral college consisting of members of parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures.
Georgian Dream has a majority in the college, making the approval of Kavelashvili's candidacy all but certain.
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. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.
