Former Manchester City FC player, Mikheil Kavelashvili has been picked by the Georgia Dream Party as its presidential candidate following its controversial election victory that has sparked protests and led to the opposition parties’ boycott of the parliament.

The 53-year-old former international and Premier League footballer was elected to the parliament in 2016 on the Georgian Dream ticket.

He has now been selected to the job of the country’s mostly ceremonial president and is all but sure to win the Dec. 14 vote by the electoral college dominated by the ruling party.

Georgian Dream retained control of the parliament in the Oct. 26 election that the opposition said was rigged under the Russian influence.

European election observers said the balloting took place in a “divisive” atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

As a striker, Kavelashvili played in the Premier League for Manchester City and in the Swiss Super League clubs.

In 2022, he has co-founded the People’s Power political movement, which has become known for its strong anti-Western rhetoric.

“Our society is divided,” Kavelashvili said in parliament, charging that “radicalization and polarization” in the country has been fuelled from abroad.

He accused Zourabichvili of violating the constitution and declared that he will “restore the presidency to its constitutional framework.”