UNM’s Baramidze urges opposition parties for unity

“What Saakashvili wrote is true, and everyone saw that. Some knew about it, but President Saakashvili deemed it necessary to inform society with his blended post about what was happening in the opposition, political parties and within the United National Movement, how the regime attempted to divide the UNM and who was involved,” said Gia Baramidze, Political Secretary of the United National Movement (UNM) party.

According to Baramidze, Mikheil Saakashvili and his team have always urged for the unity of political parties and civil forces, including during the 2024 parliamentary elections, highlighting that the “regime would attempt to conduct the special operation.”

“We should not behave as if we are accustomed to this situation and have the luxury to participate in normal elections as ordinary parties, but view the process as decisive for statehood. All healthy forces, regardless of diverse political tastes and trends, should stand together, and the Georgian society should be consolidated. Unity of the Georgian political spectrum would facilitate the Georgian people choosing this treacherous and criminal regime.

Regrettably, the majority did not share this perception, choosing instead to follow their own paths and conduct their election campaigns as they would in a normal election. Now we should talk about all those forces, no matter whether they are called political or non-political, all those who do not serve the interests of this regime, are not hired by this regime, such as the newly-established Neutral Georgia or People’s Power, being sub-units of the Russian Dream, those who do not play the role of beneficial idiots, those who come to common senses. Everyone should be united in an overall movement for rescuing Georgia,” he said.

Jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili accused former officials Paliko Kublashvili and Nika Gilauri of campaigning against him.

“We must learn from our mistakes and unite. We should not be like the Russian opposition, which turned from opposing Putin to attacking each other. Strength is in unity,” Mikheil Saakashvili wrote in a social media post.