Parliament official says UNM “facing political end” amid inter-party problems
Sarjveladze’s comment followed yesterday's statement by imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who urged “those members of the UNM party, for whom the new management of the party was unacceptable, to leave [the party] and not weaken UNM from within”. Photo via Parliament of Georgia
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Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, on Saturday said the opposition United National Movement party was “facing a political end” amid inter-party problems.
Sarjveladze’s comment followed yesterday's statement by imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who urged “those members of the UNM party, for whom the new management of the party was unacceptable, to leave [the party] and not weaken UNM from within”.
They have serious problems [...] It is a fact that there is no ideology, reason, unifying factors left in this political party [UNM], except for the narrow-party desires of individuals to somehow satisfy the oligarchic interests [of former officials of the UNM Government David Kezerashvili and Vano Merabishvili], who appear as the informal rulers of the political party, to pursue their interests and to be able to return to power in some form”, the Parliament official emphasised.
He added Saakashvili “is trying to kick out [from the party] the [already] outgoing political force [referring to Nika Melia, the former Chair of the party and his supporters], who will become opponents for the UNM party”, as the party “is already splitting”.
Sarjveladze commented on Melia’s statement earlier today, which said that he would not accept the recent calls, urging him to leave the party, from UNM members opposing him and stressed he was not one of those people who would just follow an order from anyone.
Melia also stressed it was “unclear” that the opposing side in the UNM urged him to leave the party after Saakashvili’s statement, as they had selected the former party member and incumbent leader of the Strategy Agmashenebeli opposition party Giorgi Vashadze, who was criticised by the former President for leaving the party in 2016, to lead the election campaign for the 2024 elections.
The former UNM Chair in October refused to become involved in a potential new board of the UNM party and related talks due to “the informal influence” of former officials Kezerashvili and Merabishvili over party affairs.
After losing the race for the party chairmanship to Khabeishvili in January, Melia called the winner a “puppet in the hands” of the former officials, once again pointed to "reputational problems" of Merabishvili and Kezerashvili, their "outdated views” that he said were “completely distant” from the public, and claimed “victory will never come” under their “informal presence” in the party.
Bacho Dolidze, a member of the United National Movement - the largest opposition party in Georgia - on Tuesday said the former Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili could be behind the recent release of illegal audio recording involving the party’s incumbent Chair Nika Melia.
Nika Melia, the former Chair of the United National Movement, the largest party in the domestic Georgian opposition, on Monday refused to become involved in a potential new board of the party and related talks, citing “informal influence” of David Kezerashvili, the wanted former Defence Minister of Georgia, and Vano Merabishvili, the former Interior Minister under the UNM Government, over party affairs.
Nika Melia, the former Chair of the opposition United National Movement party, on Thursday denounced “informal rule” in the party by David Kezerashvili, Vano Merabishvili and Zurab Adeishvili, three former officials in the UNM Government.
Archil Talakvadze, the Vice Parliament Speaker of Georgia, on Monday said the latest claims of David Kezerashvili, the wanted former Defence Minister of Georgia in the United National Movement Government, on his alleged funding of domestic opposition groups contained “signs of political corruption”.
Levan Khabeishvili, the Chair of the United National Movement opposition party, on Wednesday announced the expansion of the party's Political Council amid calls for his resignation by both current and former members of the group, citing concerns over an "incorrect policy".