Fifth Presidential Inauguration for Georgia: how it will be

November 17 is the date of the inauguration of Georgias incoming president Giorgi Margvelashvili who was elected by the 62% of voters.

The main distinction between Margvelashvilis inauguration and others held in the country will be its simplicity, according to the Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Maia Panjikidze, who is an inauguration commission member. "This inauguration will cost less than any other inauguration ever held in Georgia, the Minister said.

Panjikidze explained that they are caring about the tax-payers money. Thats why they are trying to spend as little as possible for the inauguration, though the exact amount of money is not known yet.

According to the Georgian Finance Minister, the new Presidents Swearing-In Ceremony will be financed by the Government Reserve Fund as the Reserve Fund of President, which was supposed to fund it, is spent already.

A special commission, presided by the outgoing Prime Minister of Georgia Bidzina Ivanishvili, was created in order to organize the event.

The inauguration ceremony will consist of four parts:

1. Swearing-in ceremony, which will take place in the former Parliament buildings inner yard, on Rustaveli Avenue, in Tbilisi. Maia Panjikidze explained that the Parliaments inner yard was chosen for the ceremony in order to prevent paralyzing city traffic on adjacent streets. The ceremony will also have a military component, but no heavy artillery and aviation will be presented.

2. Honoring the Heroes Memorial at Heroes Square, about two kilometers away from Tbilisi Parliament.

3. Receiving of foreign delegations, in a location that will be announced later.

4. A concert, possibly taking place at the Rustaveli Theatre, on Rustaveli Avenue. No foreigner artists or Georgians living abroad will be invited to participate in the concert in order to avoid extra expenses.

Invitations were already sent to Georgias partner countries, excluding Russia as Georgia has no diplomatic relations with them. International organizations are also invited to the ceremony.

The invitation letters were sent to both previous Georgian presidents Eduard Shevardnadze and Mikheil Saakashvili, and the widow of Georgias first president Manana Archvadze-Gamsakhurdia. Shevardnadze will decide whether to attend the ceremony or not according to his health condition, as for the other two, their decisions are not known yet.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes an  operative manual  for the delegations and international guests who plans to attend the Inauguration ceremony of the President of Georgia.

The ceremony will held at the inner yard of Tbilisi Parliament.

Photo by N. Alavidze

How it differs from Saakashvilis inauguration(s)

2004

The outgoing president of Georgia who ruled the country for two terms had more grandiose inauguration ceremonies. There is no exact numbers known how much the first inauguration cost the country. The money was gathered by the different state structures and it was not summed up, according to the Public Relations Manager for the Ministry of Finance.

The first inauguration for the Rose Revolution hero was held on January 24-25, 2004. The largest part of this ceremony was the military component. There was heavy artillery presented. The most impressive detail probably was the rose leaves falling down from the aircrafts to paint the flag of Georgia in the sky.

2008

The second inauguration of Mikheil Saakashvili was held on January 20, 2008. This time, it cost 4 million GEL, according to the Georgian Ministry of Finance.