Parliament Speaker says President-elect will be “focused on interests of Georgian people”

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Friday said President-elect Mikheil Kavelashvili would be “focused on the interests of the Georgian people”.

In his remarks ahead of Sunday’s inauguration, Papuashvili claimed “patriotism” was a “quality that many of Kavelashvili's predecessors lacked”.

Mikheil Kavelashvili, with his qualities, experience, political career, and his background as an athlete who brought joy to people's hearts, will focus on being the main advocate for the interests of the Georgian people. Unfortunately, many of his predecessors concentrated on themselves rather than the people”, the Speaker said.

He further claimed that the outgoing President Salome Zourabichvili had “turned the presidency into a tool for violating the Constitution, discrediting the country externally”, in reference to her unauthorised foreign visits and criticism of Government policies.

The Speaker stressed Kavelashvili would “need to reverse this damaging legacy” during his term.