Georgia's pro-Western president Zourabichvili refuses to leave and prepares for showdown

Salome Zourabichvili's term is due to end on Sunday, but she says she is her country's last legitimate institution.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersGeorgia's pro-Western president refuses to leave and prepares for showdownGetty ImagesSalome Zourabichvili (right) was filmed asking masked riot police: "Are you serving Russia or Georgia?" Salome Zourabichvili's family fled Georgia in 1921 after Soviet forces snuffed out the country's three-year experiment with independence from Russia.

A century later, Georgia's pro-Western president is refusing to leave office, arguing she is the last legitimate institution in her country.

On Sunday, her six-year term as president is due to end. According to a new system for selecting the head of state, on that day she will be replaced by former Manchester City footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili, chosen with the support of the governing Georgian Dream party.

Zourabichvili, 72, has denounced his election under an electoral college system in which he was the only candidate as a travesty.

When she became president in 2018 she was endorsed by Georgian Dream, but she has since condemned their contested election victory in late October as a "Russian special operation" and backed nightly pro-EU protests outside parliament.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwydkjvq9g2o

---