Salome Zourabichvili appears near Parliament during indirect presidential election

On December 14, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili was seen on Rustaveli Avenue near the Parliament building at the time, the Electoral College started conducting an indirect vote to elect the next president. Only delegates from the ruling Georgian Dream party participated in the vote, while opposition parties that passed the electoral threshold boycotted the process.

Speaking briefly to the media, Zourabichvili declined to comment on the ongoing election, stating she was on her way to work at the Orbeliani Palace.

“I’ve said everything I needed to. Now I’m heading to work. Let me pass,” she said, notably using a segment of Rustaveli Avenue she does not traditionally take to reach her office.

Meanwhile, protesters gathered outside the Parliament building, chanting “Salome! Salome!” and voicing their opposition to the election process. Some demonstrators brought their diplomas to the protest, symbolically naming the rally “Show Your Diploma to Kavelashvili.” The event criticized Georgian Dream’s candidate, Mikheil Kavelashvili, a former football player and veteran MP, for lacking a higher education degree.