(EurActiv) -- Georgia inaugurated ruling party loyalist Mikhail Kavelashvili as president on Sunday (29 December) amid a political showdown, shortly after Tbilisi's outgoing pro-EU leader declared herself the only legitimate president.
Salome Zurabishvili said in a speech outside the presidential palace, "I remain the only legitimate president."
"I will leave the presidential palace and stand with you, carrying with me the legitimacy, the flag, and your trust," she added before mingling with thousands of gathered supporters.
For the first time in Georgian history, Kavelashvili was sworn in at a closed-door ceremony in parliament. In a break from protocol, foreign ambassadors, who were reported to be planning to boycott the event, were not present.
"Our history clearly shows that, after countless struggles to defend our homeland and traditions, peace has always been one of the main goals and values for the Georgian people," Kavelashvili said after taking the oath.
Kavelashvili, known for his far-right views and derogatory comments about LGBTQ people, went on to praise "our traditions, values, national identity, the sanctity of the family, and faith".
The inauguration of a former footballer and hardline critic of the West is set to escalate further a months-long political crisis that has seen the government freeze EU membership talks, followed by huge pro-EU demonstrations.
Zurabishvili argues that Kavaleshvili was chosen by lawmakers who were elected in an October election marked by fraud.
Meanwhile, the ruling Georgian Dream party maintain that Kavalashvili is the duly elected president. The party has also presented itself as the sole guarantor of peace in the country, accusing the West of trying to drag Tbilisi into the Ukraine conflict.
Calls for election re-run
The presidential standoff is a watershed moment in Georgia, a mountainous country of 3.7 million recently regarded as among the most democratic and pro-Western of the former Soviet states.
Zurabishvili has become a last hope for pro-EU protesters, who accuse Georgian Dream of steering Tbilisi away from the West and back towards Moscow.
She is backed by the country’s four main pro-EU opposition parties, which have boycotted parliament since the election. They say she will remain the legitimate president until fresh elections are held.
On Sunday, she repeated that a re-run of the "illegitimate" election would be the "formula to resolve such a crisis".
However, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has said that new elections will not be called.