“We do not need to be in one party or unite different parties, political groups or individuals with matrimony ties. We just need to change the system through joint efforts,” said jailed ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili via videolink at today’s court trial.

Mikheil Saakashvili urged Georgian citizens to expand the use of flashmobs on social networks in the pre-election period. He labelled the upcoming 2024 parliamentary elections as a “challenge” and vitally significant in modern history.

“We should understand that they do not plan to step down through the elections. They will go when we act in accord,” he said.

The ex-President also asked the European Union countries to open polling stations for migrants and called on the EU to closely monitor the elections.

According to Mikheil Saakashvili, fighting always makes sense.

“When I am asked why I put myself in this condition and threat, I say that I could not bear this disaster, even at the expense of my life, from a distance. This feeling is very close to me. The feeling of despair that Georgians abroad have when they watch the country’s unfortunate situation from outside. I want all of us to turn this feeling of despair into a feeling of struggle and progress, into a feeling of unity,” he said.