Mikheil Kavelashvili, whom the Georgian Dream plans to nominate as the sixth president of Georgia, does not have a higher education. Therefore, he was ineligible to participate in the 2015 election for president of the Football Federation.
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As per the statute of the Football Federation, a candidate for the position of president must have a higher education. Mikheil Kavelashvili, the founder of the organization Our Football, stated at the time that he would appeal to the court to annul this provision.
“During the Soviet Union, there was a system in which it was unthinkable for a football player to receive higher education. This practice exists all over the world. Even UEFA President Michel Platini does not have a higher education. I believe this is a deliberate decision aimed against me. Therefore, I will definitely appeal this decision in court,” Kavelashvili said.
In 2016, Mikheil Kavelashvili entered parliament as a member of the Georgian Dream party, serving as a majoritarian deputy for 8 years, first from Sanzoni and then from Nadzaladevi. To date, no document confirming his secondary or higher education has been uploaded to the parliament’s website.
“The Georgian Parliament’s Office does not have and, therefore, does not store any document confirming the education of Member of Parliament Mikheil Kavelashvili. As a result, we are unable to provide you with these documents,” the Parliament’s Office explained in a letter to the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI).
As per the Georgian Constitution, any citizen of Georgia who has the right to vote and has lived in the country for at least 15 years is eligible to be elected president. The Constitution does not set an educational qualification.
Bidzina Ivanishvili, Honorary Chairman of the Georgian Dream, praised Mikheil Kavelashvili’s honesty, fairness, patriotism, and commitment to principles, noting that “these are the qualities that particularly distinguish him.” He further stated, “By his nature, if you will, by his habitus, he is the best embodiment of a Georgian man” when introducing Kavelashvili.
By the decision of the illegitimate parliament, presidential elections are set to be held on December 14, with the inauguration scheduled for December 29.
Salome Zourabichvili is the last president to be directly elected by universal suffrage. The sixth president of Georgia will be elected for a 5-year term by a 300-member electoral college, which will include members of the Georgian Parliament, representative bodies of the autonomous republics of Abkhazia and Adjara, and representatives of local self-governments. At least 30 members of the electoral college have the right to nominate a presidential candidate. Each member can support the nomination of only one candidate. A candidate will be considered elected president if they receive the support of 2/3 of the entire college. If not, a second round will be held.
