Ruling party official claims domestic opposition leaders an “agent network managed by single hand”

Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday claimed domestic opposition leaders Mikheil Saakashvili, Nika Gvaramia, Mamuka Khazaradze and Giorgi Gakharia represented “agent network managed by a single hand”.

Mdinaradze alleged votes cast for the “agent network” parties of United National Movement, Ahali, Lelo and For Georgia in the coming parliamentary election later this month were “without exaggeration not only creating a grave danger to our peaceful and decent tomorrow”, but “even to the very existence” of the country.

We have repeatedly told the public that the opposition is completely dependent on external directives and acts only on orders and instructions received from outside the country. We can safely call them a collective agent network, because only ballot numbers and party logos distinguish them from each other, while they are the same in terms of content and anti-Georgian goals”, the ruling party official claimed.

He further reviewed actions by Giorgi Gakharia, the former Prime Minister of Georgia and the Chair of the opposition For Georgia party, by claiming that he was “no different from ordinary members of a collective agent network”.

He also receives his tasks from the [opposition’s] common patron and obeys them without saying a word. During his tenure in key positions in the Georgian Dream Government, he repeatedly sought and deliberately damaged the image of the Government, which he obviously did in accordance with tasks received from outside the country”, Mdinaradze alleged.

He also recalled the developments in 2021 when Gakharia announced his resignation from the post of the Prime Minister ahead of the arrest of Nika Melia, the then Chair of UNM, and claimed Gakharia's task had been to “overthrow the Government”.

“He had to show that the state institutions were completely broken. The Ministry of Internal Affairs should not have been able to enforce the law, that is, it should not have arrested Melia [in this scenario]”, Mdinaradze continued.

He further urged the public to “once again remember and analyse the facts” from the past regarding the actions of the opposition.