UNM’s Pavlenishvili: Saakashvili leading UNM’s new Reformers’ Council is symbolic given his regional track record; body is ‘not strictly partisan’

“The Reformers’ Council may include both party members and people from outside the party. For that reason, it is not a purely party body,” said Irakli Pavlenishvili, a member of the United National Movement.

According to him, “the aim of the Reformers’ Council is for reforms within the United National Movement to be carried out fundamentally, at the root.”

“Among other things, the goals we have set ourselves over these days and weeks are to be fulfilled. It is deeply symbolic that Mikheil Saakashvili is the head of this Council. Saakashvili is associated with reform, with being a reformer, not only in Georgia but across the whole of Eastern Europe. Even amid this process of intra-party reform, his appointment to this position is an absolutely symbolic and welcome development. As you will have seen, Nanuka Zhorzholiani will serve as executive secretary. Broadly speaking, the Reform Council will bring together a diverse mix of generations and backgrounds, encompassing both party members and non-members alike.

This is not a party council. The Council’s task will be to ensure that reforms are generated during the transitional period. We already have certain ideas. Among other items on the agenda, a presentation was delivered detailing proposals for the comprehensive renewal and reform of the party. Nanuka Zhorzholiani has her own ideas, too, as do other party members. Some people are not party members but have ideas of their own. The Council will aim to generate a full package of reforms during this transitional period,” said Irakli Pavlenishvili.

Pavlenishvili also noted that the timeline for the party chairperson elections will soon be announced.

“For now, we are in a transitional period. We will soon learn when the chairperson’s election will take place. A congress will be held, and a temporary governing body will be formed. So there is no talk yet of candidates for the chairmanship. This is a transitional period, and the focus is on the reforms that need to be carried out. A corresponding body has been created for these reforms, the Reformers’ Council. As for the temporary body, it will attempt to take into account the Reformers’ Council’s recommendations and the ideas and projects it generates during the transitional period. At the next stage, rather than a temporary body, leading figures will be elected for the United National Movement,” Pavlenishvili said.

According to Pavlenishvili, as far as he is aware, the United National Movement’s incumbent chairperson, Tina Bokuchava, is remaining within the party.

“As far as I know, and as she herself has stated, she is remaining in the United National Movement and continuing the fight. Naturally, this is something all of us dearly wish for. For her, the chairmanship has never been the only form the fight can take,” said Pavlenishvili.

Asked, “Mikheil Saakashvili mentions the constitutional case and the possible banning of the party. Could the Reformers’ Council also be understood as a new party?”, Pavlenishvili said:

“This is a political team carrying so great an idea, with so many idealistic supporters, that formal dissolution may well pose a challenge; though it is easy enough for anyone to see that it will not destroy the United National Movement. The political landscape in this country has changed. It is not just a matter of the constitutional case; everything must be considered together: every circumstance that exists in the country, everything that has changed the political system and the landscape in Georgia and given rise to an entirely new set of circumstances.”

Asked to clarify further, “Is the Reformers’ Council, in part, also a new party?”, Pavlenishvili replied:

“No, I did not say it was a new party; that would be a misinterpretation. Every element matters here. The United National Movement has existed and will continue to exist. It was founded by Mikheil Saakashvili and his associates, who, fortunately, remain members of this party to this day and intend to remain in future as well. So, quite definitely, no other new party is being founded. The fact that the party is capable of renewing and reforming itself, despite so many years of practice, speaks to its strength and its vitality.”

Georgia’s former President, Mikheil Saakashvili, recently published a post on social media. In it, Saakashvili proposes that the United National Movement elect a temporary governing body and establish a Reformers’ Council, which he himself would chair, with Nanuka Zhorzholiani serving as executive secretary.