Georgia's pro-Western president refuses to leave and prepares for showdown

Salome Zourabichvili's household fled Georgia successful 1921 aft Soviet forces snuffed retired the country's three-year experimentation with independency from Russia.

A period later, Georgia's pro-Western president is refusing to permission office, arguing she is the past morganatic instauration successful her country,

On Sunday, her six-year word arsenic president is owed to end. According to a caller strategy for selecting the caput of state, connected that time she volition beryllium replaced by erstwhile Manchester City footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili, chosen with the enactment of the governing Georgian Dream party.

Zourabichvili, 72, has denounced his predetermination nether an electoral assemblage strategy successful which helium was the lone campaigner arsenic a travesty.

When she became president successful 2018 she was endorsed by Georgian Dream, but she has since condemned their contested predetermination triumph successful precocious October arsenic a "Russian peculiar operation" and backed nightly pro-EU protests extracurricular parliament.

The authorities says if she refuses to permission bureau she volition beryllium committing a crime.

If she is forced out, she says the ruling party's takeover of the authorities volition beryllium implicit and Georgia volition person surrendered its sovereignty to a enactment that she accuses of serving Moscow.

Salome Zourabichvili was calved successful France successful 1952 into a salient household of Georgian émigrés. Her grandfather, a curate successful the authorities of concisely autarkic Georgia, fled to France successful 1921.

Georgia, past nether Soviet rule, loomed ample successful her childhood. It was a "mythical place, which lone existed successful books," she said successful a 2004 interview.

Though raised successful a culturally Georgian environment, speaking the connection astatine location and attending Georgian Orthodox religion services, she easy integrated into French culture. She attended France's elite schools, including Sciences Po, traditionally a feeder for the country's apical nationalist servants.

She excelled, serving arsenic a French diplomat for astir 30 years. But throughout, her existent passionateness remained successful extricating her parents' mysterious state of root from Russia's power and bringing it person to the West.

"She sees it arsenic her life's ngo to bring Georgia into Europe. Everything other for her has ever been secondary," said Alexandre Crevaux-Asatiani, a erstwhile Zourabichvili aide.

In 2003, she was appointed French ambassador to Georgia. A twelvemonth later, she was granted Georgian citizenship and made overseas curate nether President Mikheil Saakashvili. Dismissed successful 2005, she took an progressively salient relation successful her adopted country's politics, founding a caller party.

Saakashvili's regularisation ended successful 2012 and Georgian Dream person been successful powerfulness ever since. The party's founder, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, is wide seen by Georgians arsenic the astir almighty antheral successful their country. By a quirk of fate, helium is besides French, having taken citizenship successful 2010.

Backed for the presidency by Ivanishvili's party, Zourabichvili was initially unpopular among the country's pro-Western youth. A fashionable TV amusement mocked her halting Georgian, spoken with a beardown French accent.

She was seen arsenic aligned with the ruling party, unpopular with galore young people, and she blamed a abbreviated warfare with Russia successful 2008 connected Georgia allowing itself to beryllium provoked.

But arsenic her statesmanlike word progressed, Georgian Dream took an progressively authoritarian and anti-Western turn, cracking down connected civilian nine and NGOs. It refused to articulation Western sanctions connected Russia aft the full-scale penetration of Ukraine, and called the West the "global warfare party", making a mockery of its stated purpose of joining the EU and Nato.

Zourabichvili openly defied the government, believing she had the enactment of the bulk of Georgia's population.

She pledged to veto a measure connected "foreign influence" that mirrored Russian authorities passed nether President Vladimir Putin, but the authorities passed it anyway, defying weeks of protests.

"The prime for Georgia is betwixt independency oregon slavery, Europe oregon Russia," she said successful April.

She has often addressed the protesters who person turned retired each nighttime for a period extracurricular parliament, casting them arsenic the conscience of the federation against a Russia-friendly government.

Last period she asked riot police, accused by the absorption of brutalising protesters: "Are you serving Russia oregon Georgia?"

Many protesters, initially distrustful of the president for coming to powerfulness with Georgian Dream's backing, came to respect her outspoken opposition.

"No-one expected her to beryllium this good. She reflects our values," said Irakli, a 34-year-old who has been regularly demonstrating. "She motivates america to fight."

Ahead of October's contested elections, the authorities tried to impeach her for gathering EU leaders without authorities authorisation. Ultimately the effort failed but it was an denotation of the showdown to come.

Zourabichvili called the elections, which returned Georgian Dream to power, "totally falsified". She backed absorption parties' calls for a re-run, drafting the ire of elder enactment leaders.

She present faces possibly her biggest situation truthful far, arsenic Georgian Dream prepares to instal her replacement, Mikheil Kavelashvili, arsenic president.

But Zourabichvili has insisted she volition not go, mounting up a apt law crisis. Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has threatened her with arrest.

"Let's spot wherever she ends up, down bars oregon outside," helium told reporters this week.

The authorities is apt to unit her to permission 1 mode oregon another, said Petre Tsiskarishvili of the absorption United National Movement.

Conscious of not wanting to marque her a governmental martyr and elevate her illustration further, it whitethorn debar a high-profile arrest, helium added, possibly simply locking her retired of her authoritative residence astatine the Orbeliani Palace.

Doubts towards her volition persist. Some successful the absorption blasted her for providing a pro-European look to Georgian Dream's authoritarian crook for acold excessively long, refraining from criticising Ivanishvili until lone a fewer months ago.

But successful a state wherever pro-European forces person often been fractured, Zourabichvili's supporters accidental she is apt to look from her word successful bureau arsenic a cardinal hostile to the government.

"Even if she is arrested, she volition inactive beryllium considered the morganatic president of Georgia. There is nary question astir it," said Mr Crevaux-Asatiani, the president's erstwhile aide.