Foreign ambassadors and foreign guests are not invited to the inauguration of Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili on December 29. This was announced by the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili, UNN reports with reference to Novosti Georgia.
"Ambassadors are not invited... I was also not going to invite representatives of foreign countries to this inauguration," he told reporters.
Among the reasons Papuashvili cited were the "limitations" of the session hall where the ceremony was to be held. At the same time, the head of the parliament believes that it is important to have voters and representatives of constitutional bodies, not foreigners, at the ceremony. According to him, representatives of the Georgian Orthodox Church will also be among the guests. Apparently, the participation of the Georgian army will also be limited to a few high-ranking officials of the Defense Forces.
Foreign guests and ambassadors from partner countries have always attended the swearing-in ceremonies of the Georgian president. For example, in December 2018, Salomi Zurabishvili's inauguration was attended by up to 150 representatives from over 50 countries, including high-ranking officials.
With the exception of Zurabishvili, all presidents in the past have been inaugurated in the courtyard of the legislature. Explaining the reasons for breaking with tradition, Papuashvili said that they wanted to mark a "historic moment" as it was the first time that a president was elected by the electoral college.
The inauguration ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. and will last no more than 40 minutes. Security measures will be tightened in the parliament, and journalists will be allowed in with special permission in a limited number.
On December 14, the electoral college, which is staffed by representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream party, elected Kavelashvili as the country's sixth president. He had no competitors. The opposition refused to participate in the process, which was the responsibility of the parliament that convened following the October 26 elections. None of the four opposition parties that passed the threshold will recognize the results.
The fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, said she would not resign until new elections are held in the country.