Kavelashvili, 53 — a sole candidate for the largely ceremonial post — is known for his vehement anti-West diatribes and opposition to LGBTQ rights.
Georgian Dream scrapped direct presidential elections in 2017.
With Zurabishvili refusing to leave office, opposition lawmakers boycotting parliament, protests showing no signs of abating, and constitutional law experts saying the vote will be illegitimate, Kavelashvili will see his presidency undermined from the onset.
One author of Georgia’s constitution, Vakhtang Khmaladze, has argued that all decisions by the new parliament are void, as it ratified the mandates of newly elected MPs in violation of the legal requirement to await the outcome of a court case filed by Zurabishvili contesting the legitimacy of the elections.
“Georgia is facing an unprecedented constitutional crisis,” Khmaladze told AFP.
It remains unclear how the government will react to Zurabishvili’s refusal to step down after her successor is inaugurated on December 29.
A former diplomat, Zurabishvili is a hugely popular figure among protesters who view her as a beacon of Georgia’s European aspirations.
Macron address
Police have fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters, arresting more than 400. The country’s rights ombudsman has accused security forces of “torturing” those detained.
Raids on the offices of opposition parties and arrests of their leaders followed.
As international condemnation of Georgia’s police crackdown mounted, French President Emmanuel Macron released a video address to Georgians.
“Georgia’s European dream must not be extinguished,” he said. “We are by your side in supporting your European and democratic aspirations.”
Earlier this week, Macron called Georgian Dream’s founder Bidzina Ivanishvili — the tycoon widely considered to be Georgia’s real power broker. His decision to call Ivanishvili — rather than Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze — is indicative of the West’s hesitancy to recognise the legitimacy of Georgian Dream’s new government.
Macron’s message to Georgians came after Washington imposed fresh sanctions on Georgian officials overnight, barring visas for around 20 people accused of “undermining democracy in Georgia”, including ministers and parliamentarians.
Amnesty International said Friday that protesters have faced “brutal dispersal tactics, arbitrary detention, and torture.”