The Chairwoman of the United National Movement (UNM), Tina Bokuchava, has stated that she was personally opposed to the party joining the Opposition Alliance but ultimately conceded to Mikhail Saakashvili’s decision.

Bokuchava noted that staging a demonstrative exit from the alliance just two to three months after joining would have amounted to political inconsistency.

“Questions have arisen regarding whether President Saakashvili was aware of the UNM’s decision to join the Opposition Alliance. Naturally, he was aware, and the matter was discussed with him in considerable detail. Furthermore, I was personally opposed to joining the alliance, and I shared this view with him. Why? Because I believe that a democratic front for victory must be a broad socio-political coalition that confronts the regime united as one in the elections; all for one. The alliance met none of these criteria.

President Saakashvili, however, believed that the UNM would become a target of attacks and that he would be personally blamed for undermining unity. Consequently, I deferred to his decision for the UNM to enter the Opposition Alliance. However, I felt that making a dramatic exit from the alliance just two or three months after joining would appear inconsistent, so I shared President Saakashvili’s public stance that the United National Movement had no intention of staging a demarche. I do not believe that artificially keeping this issue alive now is justified. If anything is detached from the people and divorced from their real struggles, it is this very discussion.

As for internal party matters, the UNM does not need an external audit to recognise that it is facing severe challenges. We have still survived despite President Saakashvili, Political Council Chairman Levan Khabeishvili, and the backbone of our Tbilisi organisation, Irakli Nadiradze, all being effectively held imprisoned; the party is stripped of financial resources and under the constant threat of being shut down. They failed to ban us; they failed to erase us!

This is, first and foremost, thanks to our unyielding supporters, our regional and district leaders, and our local organisations. But equally, it is largely due to the international efforts into which the UNM’s foreign affairs team pours immense resources.

We must overcome our current challenges through an open, inclusive, sincere, and democratic internal party dialogue, in which everyone participates, from the UNM’s longest-serving and most dedicated members to those who have only just joined us. Only such a process will lead us to a decision grounded in political pragmatism and backed by human morality.

We shall achieve a glorious victory! Together! For Georgia!” Tina Bokuchava wrote.