UNM’s Sanikidze urges for opposition unity: Georgia needs united leadership, not ego-driven politics

“Ivanishvili is uniting the opposition in prison, but it would be better if the opposition, free society, and media, still standing outside, unite beyond prison walls,” said Levan Sanikidze, a member of the opposition United National Movement party, speaking to journalists.

According to Sanikidze, it is time for the consolidation of political forces, civil society, and media.

“I want to address the Georgian public not as a party member, but as your fellow citizen, neighbor, and friend. The first line of defense against dictatorship is political parties and politicians. The banning of political parties is only a matter of time — they plan to imprison most politicians for a long time, especially those with influence both inside and outside the country, those who actually won the October 26, 2024 elections,” Sanikidze said.

He warned that this would be followed by restrictions on free media, independent universities, and businesses.

“They will go after television stations, print and online outlets, universities like the University of Georgia, Ilia State University, and the Free University. They will suppress businesses that still breathe and do not obey, and they will crush street protests,” he said.

Sanikidze called for “full-fledged, full-scale consolidation” among democratic forces.

“We need the unity of those political parties and leaders who still have sanity and the ability to admit mistakes — this country cannot be led by ego. We need the consolidation of civil society, activist groups, NGOs, and the free media. The European Commission has already concluded that ‘Georgian Dream’ has crossed all lines. This regime has moved toward a full-fledged dictatorship,” he said.

“Ivanishvili is uniting the opposition in prison. It would be better if the opposition, free society, and media that are still free and on the streets unite outside prison. Otherwise, Georgia will lose visa-free travel, funding, the Erasmus program — everything from Europe. Ivanishvili is behaving like Lukashenko and Kadyrov, but Georgia is not yet Belarus or Chechnya. This winter, ‘Georgian Dream’ has its homework, so we must decide what ours will be,” Sanikidze concluded.