Ruling party founder’s return to politics creates “huge potential” for success - Parliament official

Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, on Saturday said the return of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party and the former Prime Minister, to politics in December as the party’s Honorary Chair was creating “a huge potential” for the success of the GD party.

In an interview with the Imedi TV channel, Sarjveladze highlighted Ivanishvili’s “immeasurable” authority in the society that would help the ruling team “win again” in the upcoming parliamentary elections, emphasising that “it's impossible not to feel grateful [towards him] if one knows [remembers] what this man [Ivanishvili] has done since the 90s”.

No matter how much the [domestic] opposition talks, they understand very well that Ivanishvili was personally the main factor behind the departure of these harmful people [former ruling team the United National Movement] from the Government at the time”, he added.

Ivanishvili was elected as the honorary Chair of the ruling party on December 30. He served as the PM of Georgia from October 25, 2012 to November 17, 2013 and resigned as he promised during his election campaign.