Opposition leader says ruling party persecutes, threatens ex PM Gakharia’s For Georgia party members
Natia Mezvrishvili says For Georgia party members under government-backed pressure. Photo: For Georgia press office
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Deputy Chair of opposition For Georgia party Natia Mezvrishvili says the ruling Georgian Dream party persecutes and threatens opposition politicians, especially in regions.
The Georgian Dream continues the political persecution against the supporters and members of For Georgia party by using various methods of threat and pressure”, Mezvrishvili said at a news briefing today.
These methods, she said, have led the former United National Movement government to an end back in 2012.
Today the Georgian Dream - now distanced from its values - which has been fighting against the systemic crime for a number of years, is fighting against the one and the only political party in the country, which cares for the state and its people and is capable of advancing the country”, Mezvrishvili said.
She then added that ‘to maintain its power’ the ruling party uses police, State Security Service, Prosecutor’s Office and Revenue Service, as well as rejects to take international obligation aimed to ensure the independence of the above institutions.
Government-backed pressure on #ForGeorgias candidates for withdrawal of their candidacies has gained an alarming nature. If it continues, party is under risk of annulment of the election list in certain districts.
— Natia Mezvrishvili (@N_mezvrishvili) September 6, 2021
For Georgia party was founded by former Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia earlier this year after his resignation as PM.
Gakharia announced on September 1 that he will be running for Tbilisi mayor in the upcoming municipal elections.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has announced his resignation earlier today, saying that the step is connected with the upcoming arrest of the opposition MP, the head of the United National Movement opposition party Nika Melia. Gakharia has stated that Melia violated the law and has been engaged in sparking tension in the country.
Former Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia, who now leads the For Georgia opposition party, has announced today his plans of running for Tbilisi mayor. Gakharia said that three months after the establishment of the For Georgia party it has been the one and the only political party with an increasing rating in Georgia.
Former Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, who now chairs the For Georgia political union, said at the party’s launch presentation earlier today that ‘we unite for Georgia, but not against anybody’. Stating that his team will be actively involved in political processes, Gakharia said Georgia now needs a political party which can ‘look the truth in the eyes’ and speak up about the challenges the country is facing nowadays, instead of living in illusions.
Former Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia, who is running for Tbilisi mayor in the upcoming October 2 self-government elections, has accused local TV channel Imedi of political bias and demands to be aired live. Giorgi Gakharia resigned from the post of PM on February 18, 2021 due to a disagreement with the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and soon after in late May launched the For Georgia political party. The GD accused Gakharia of planning an alleged coup together with the largest opposition United National Movement (UNM) party, noting that his resignation ’was profitable for the UNM.’
Local TV channel Imedi has responded to former Georgian PM and Tbilisi mayor candidate Giorgi Gakharia’s accusations that the channel has political bias and has thus refused to air him live in the run up to the October 2 municipal elections. Imedi pointed out an alleged connection between the current opposition United National Movement (UNM) party which governed the country from 2004 to 2012 and Giorgi Gakharia who left the post of PM on February 18, 2021 due to a disagreement with the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and launched the For Georgia political party in late May.
The For Georgia opposition party, which was founded by the country’s former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia back in may 2021, says that Gakharia’s hair follicle drug test performed by FTC-Forensisch-Toxikologisches Labor in Austria, Vienna, on September 14, is negative.