Georgian lawmakers voted in a far-right former soccer star as the country's next president on Saturday, amidst mounting popular anger over the government's halt to EU accession talks. Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, a former MP for the ruling Georgian Dream party and a former player for Manchester City, was the only candidate in the running.
The president was chosen not by a national election but in parliament by a direct ballot of a 300-member electoral college made up of MPs and representatives of local government. Due to opposition boycotts, Kavelashvili was virtually guaranteed to win, receiving 224 out of 225 votes.
