Thousands of Georgian demonstrators formed a human chain in the capital, Tbilisi, ahead of the political confrontation in which the new president is preparing to take the constitutional oath.
The new president – former Manchester City footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili, who is seen as an ally of the ruling Georgian Dream party – is due to be inaugurated on Sunday.
But the current head of state, Salome Zurabishvili, refuses to step down, describing her election as illegitimate.
The Georgian Dream, which has ruled the country for 12 years, won the parliamentary elections that took place last October, but the victory was marred by allegations of fraud, and protests have taken place since then.
The four main opposition groups rejected Kavelashvili and boycotted parliament.
It is not yet clear how the crisis will be resolved.
The demonstrators, waving the flags of Georgia and the European Union, formed a human chain that stretched kilometers on Saturday.
“I'm in the street with my whole family trying to somehow extricate this small country from the clutches of the Russian Empire,” one protester told the Associated Press.
The Georgian Dream has become increasingly authoritarian in recent years, passing Russian-style laws targeting media outlets, non-governmental groups that receive foreign funding, and the LGBT community.
It has refused to join Western sanctions imposed on Russia after the massive invasion of Ukraine, and has described the West as a “global war party,” making a mockery of its stated goal of joining the European Union and NATO.
An overwhelming majority of Georgians support the country's path toward joining the European Union, which is part of the constitution.
But in November, the country's ruling party said the government would not pursue EU accession talks until 2028.
This announcement sparked days of protests, and riot police used tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators, who responded by throwing fireworks and stones.
United States this week Penalties imposed About the former Prime Minister of Georgia and billionaire founder of the Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Georgia is a parliamentary democracy where the president is the head of state, and the prime minister is the speaker of parliament.
Current President Zurabishvili denounced Kavelashvili's election – which took place under the electoral college system in which he was the only candidate – and described it as a farce.
When Zurabishvili became president in 2018, she had the support of the Georgian Dream party, but she has since condemned their controversial election victory in late October as a “Russian special operation” and has supported nightly pro-EU protests outside parliament.
Zurabishvili pledged not to step down from her position on Sunday.
The government says that if she refuses to leave office, she will commit a crime.
