Georgia’s 1st woman president is inaugurated amid protests

VELISTSIKHE, Georgia – The first woman president of Georgia has been sworn into office amid continued protests from opposition figures who allege her election was tainted.

President Salome Zurabishvili said during her inauguration speech on Sunday that she would work “to promote our country’s integration process into NATO and the EU.”

Opposition activists clashed with police after authorities blocked access to the inauguration’s venue in the city of Telavi.

Zurabishvili, a French-born former foreign minister, won a November 28 runoff against opposition candidate Grigol Vashadze. The government favoured her in the race.

The opposition alleges gross electoral violations occurred during the presidential election that make the outcome illegitimate.

Observers for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have said the government was overly involved in the election campaign.