Nika Melia, the former Chair of the opposition United National Movement party, on Thursday said he was leaving the ranks of the largest opposition party in Georgia amid the ongoing intra-party feud.
Melia noted he had done “everything” to preserve the principles of the United National Movement party, but his efforts had been ignored.
The party has made “informal governance, behind-the-scenes influences, persecution of dissent and closing the door to democracy” as a political “standard”, Melia stressed.
A vicious circle has been created [within the UNM] taking into account the interest of everyone except the interest of the people. Staying in this vicious circle means renouncing truth, dignity, morality and the future of Georgia”, he said.
Melia added that a large part of the domestic political class believed the “main tool” of the struggle was money, and further pointed out “I believe that the main tool of the political struggle is the truth, the value of the word, sincerity”.