December 17, 2018 - 14:39 AMT
Georgia's first woman President sworn in

Salome Zurabishvili has been sworn into office as Georgia's first woman president amid continued denunciations by the opposition that her election as rigged, RFE/RL reports.

In her inaugural speech on Sunday, December 16, Zurabishvili vowed to reconcile political divisions and deepen ties with NATO and the European Union.

"As the Georgian president backed by our strategic partner, the United States, and European friends, I will make every effort to promote our country's integration process into NATO and the EU," she said.

She also urged Russia to respect international law if it wants to normalize relations with its neighbors. Tbilisi’s relations with Moscow remain tense following a five-day war in 2008.

"Russia should understand that, if it wants to be a full-fledged member of the international community and normalize relations in the region, it should prove the recognition of international legal norms by words and by deeds. This is mandatory for establishing an equal and peaceful relationship with its neighbors," she said.

She added that Russia was continuing its "unacceptable occupation" of two Georgian regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The inauguration ceremony was held at an 18th-century palace in the town of Telavi, about 100 kilometers east of the capital, Tbilisi.

More than 1,800 Georgian and foreign guests attended the event, including Armenian President Armen Sarkisian and French former President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Zurabishvili’s rival in the runoff, Grigol Vashadze of the opposition United National Movement, received 40.5 percent of the vote.

But opposition parties have refused to accept the results, pointing to instances of alleged fraud in the runoff vote.

On December 16, opposition supporters tried to hold a demonstration in Telavi, but police blocked their convoy of cars and buses on a road leading from Tbilisi to the town.