Former Georgian Prime Minister and the ruling Georgian Dream party founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, said his entry in politics aimed to “put an end to Mikheil Saakashvili’s violent, inhumane, and undemocratic regime through elections.”

“Indeed, we have had to confront the evil that was methodically built and strengthened by several people over nine years,” Ivanishvili noted. “Today, this evil has been significantly weakened. However, its harmful effects can still be felt, and the Georgian Dream remains its main deterrent to this day,” he said.

“The purpose of my coming into politics in 2011 was to meet two goals. One was to put an end to Mikheil Saakashvili’s violent, inhumane, and undemocratic regime through elections, as the opposition did not possess the resources to change the government without my direct participation. The other goal was unhindered Euro-Atlantic integration of the country chosen by the Georgian people, as the public perceived Saakashvili being in power and especially his retention of power as an expression of the West’s support for him. It automatically elicited strong aggression directed against the country’s Western orientation,” Ivanishvili said in his resignation letter.

The ruling party founder recollected the country’s dire political and economic situation in 2011 when “the opposition was drained and close to destruction,” when “a consolidated propaganda machine was set in motion to make use of every means to influence public opinion.”

“You all remember the media and its form at a time. The ruling party had captured and fully controlled all three national broadcasters. Party leaders ran the news in line with their political agenda, determined the rundown, and even personally wrote texts for the news! It took years to restore justice at these captured TV stations. Unfortunately, the machine of lies described above continues to work to this day because both the political client in Mikheil Saakashvili and the providers in party functionaries and journalists turned media managers are still very much around,” Ivanishvili noted.

The ex-Georgian PM stressed that the ruling “Georgian Dream party changed many things in the country, dealt with many challenges, and tackled numerous problems.”

“But we have yet to defeat lies and uproot them from the news domain – one task that may even be impossible in our modern world. Instead, we have succeeded in providing people with a free and pluralistic environment through proper state governance and propaganda rejection. It is precisely why the majority of citizens can correctly differentiate between good and evil,” Ivanishvili stated.

Earlier today, Bidzina Ivanishvili published a letter saying he is quitting politics.