Georgia's fourth president inaugurated

On November 17, the fourth president of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili, was inaugurated. This is an important milestone. For Georgia it was an event of extreme importance, because the transition of power between the former president and the new one took place peacefully. (Here we should recall that the first president of Georgia was ousted and the second – was removed by Mikheil Saakashvili’s Rose Revolution.)

The inauguration of the new president took place in a modest way without any pomp, although the ceremony did preserve the old formalities. The representatives of more than 50 countries had sent their delegations to attend the inauguration of Margvelashvili. The major message from the European Union (EU) aside from the congratulation was the warning: the current Georgian Dream administration should not try to orchestrate political revenge or conduct a 'witch-hunt' against the former political leadership. Georgia should not repeat Ukraine’s mistakes by further complicating its path to the EU.

It is interesting that no opposition representatives were present at the inauguration ceremony. The United National Movement (UNM) ignored the invitation and ignored the ceremony. However, the non-parliamentary opposition was not invited at all. The visible sides of democracy were evident in the center of the capital in the courtyard of the old parliamentary building where the inauguration ceremony took place, whereas in front of the same building two protest rallies were underway. One was organized by the leader of the Labor Party, Shalva Natelashvili, protesting the results of the presidential election, while another – was a protest against the construction of the Khudoni Hydro Electric Power Station in Svaneti.

In his inauguration speech, President Margvelashvili outlined his future plans. He highlighted the end of the post-Soviet era and the beginning of creating a European-styled country. As for the foreign affairs direction, Margvelashvili reiterated European integration as Georgia’s priority. The Georgian president also confirmed the commitment of the Georgian Dream coalition to regulate relations with Russia in the conditions of respecting the sovereignty of Georgia. He also welcomed the Abkhaz and Ossetian people to create a united country together.

Margvelashvili once again confirmed the importance of the strategic partnership with the US and also repeated the importance of Orthodox Christianity for Georgia and vowing to protect all the religious rights.

On the same day, PM Ivanishvili submitted his resignation document to President Margevlashvili. Simultaneously he was granted the right to temporarily fulfill the PM’s functions. PM Ivanishvili will resign in a couple of days and the new president Margvelashvili together with the new PM Irakli Gharibashvili will govern the country.