Georgia's pro-west leader calls herself 'only legitimate president' as head of state sworn in

Georgia's pro-western president, Salome Zourabichvili, said she would leave the palace but remain the country's legitimate officeholder yesterday after refusing to hand over the keys to her successor in the wake of a controversial general election.

- Angelique Chrisafis

Zourabichvili spoke as thousands of protesters gathered in the capital, Tbilisi, to demonstrate against the inauguration of Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former football player turned far-right politician backed by the ruling pro-Moscow and increasingly authoritarian Georgian Dream (GD) party, who was sworn in as president at a parliamentary ceremony.

The inauguration of Kavelashvili - which for the first time in Georgia's history was held behind closed doors in the plenary chamber inside parliament - is likely to further escalate a months-long political crisis during which there have been large pro-European Union demonstrations.

At least 2,000 pro-EU protesters gathered outside parliament before the disputed presidential inauguration. Addressing them, Zourabichvili, a rallying figure for those opposed to GD, declared: "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."

After taking the presidential oath in parliament, Kavelashvili said: "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."

The GD party has presented itself as the country's sole guarantor of stability, accusing the west of trying to drag Tbilisi into the Ukraine conflict.