UPDATE - Salome Zourabichvili Sworn In As Georgian President

UPDATE - Salome Zourabichvili Sworn in as Georgian President

TBILISI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th December, 2018) Georgian President-elect Salome Zourabichvili was sworn in for her term in office on Sunday.

The inauguration ceremony, which was broadcast by Georgian television channels and lasted about 40 minutes, took place in the city of Telavi, in the territory of the medieval Batonis Tsikhe castle, the residence of King Erekle II.

"I, the President of Georgia, in the face of God and the people, swear to abide by the constitution, independence of the country, its unity and indivisibility, take care of the safety of citizens and their welfare, the revival of my people and homeland," Zourabichvili said.

About 1,800 people attended the event, including guests from abroad, members of the Georgian government, lawmakers, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia, Zourabichvili's predecessor Giorgi Margvelashvili and his family, and the military.

Salome Zourabichvili is the first woman to hold the role in the history of Georgia.

After the oath, the national anthem was played, and seven artillery salvos were fired.

The inauguration day was overshadowed by protests. Earlier in the day, the opposition activists headed to Telavi with an intention to hold a protest rally demanding to call an early parliamentary election, since they did not recognize the results of the recent presidential vote, but they were stopped by police, the Georgian Interior Ministry said.

The cars had to stop about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Telavi due to a ban imposed by the police, and the activists decided to reach the city on feet. Opposition supporters were offered to get to the action venue via the Tbilisi-Kvareli-Telavi bypass road, but they refused to do so because the movement was also limited there. The demonstrators tried to break through the police cordons and move the police vehicles.

The ministry called on the organizers of the protest action to keep order and obey police demands.