"We are together" – two Georgian oppositionists unite for parliamentary elections
The former chairman of the opposition “United National Movement,” Nika Melia, and the founder of the “Mtavari” TV channel, Nika Gvaramia, have decided to unite for participation in the parliamentary elections scheduled to be held in Georgia in October 2024.
On March 11, Melia and Gvaramia announced the creation of a political alliance named “Akhali,” which means “New.”
“Our party is ‘Akhali.’ We stand together, fighting for new avenues of change in Georgia. We will bring change because we know how to fight, we value integrity, we understand the price of serving our country, we can overcome challenges, and we know how to respond to adversity. We also understand governance, and we are committed to continuing our country’s journey with effective leadership, successful initiatives, and European integration.
Our initiative starts with the desire to unite further. I believe in forming larger alliances and am ready to make any compromises for victory. However, this can’t just be our effort alone; we are not just calling people to join us – we are inviting everyone to unite,” says Nika Gvaramia.
“This journey has been tough; this process took three months. What drove us, apart from friendship and the goal of becoming a single electoral entity, one team? Primarily, it was the interests of both teams and the tens of thousands of active voters,” Nika Melia adds. He mentions that the founding congress of the new political union will happen soon.
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Who is Nika Gvaramia?
During Mikhail Saakashvili’s presidency, Nika Gvaramia served as the minister of justice and education, as well as the deputy attorney general.
Some time after the change of power, Gvaramia established the broadcasting company “Mtavari” (“Main Channel”).
In May 2022, Nika Gvaramia was sentenced to three years and six months in prison on charges of abuse of office.
In June 2023, the president of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, signed a decree pardoning Nika Gvaramia.
Nika Gvaramia’s case was included in the latest report of the U.S. State Department, in sections related to political prisoners and freedom of speech. The White House, citing the human rights organization Amnesty International, reports that Gvaramia’s case has highlighted the “growing influence of the government on the judiciary in a number of cases,” aimed at suppressing their critics and opponents.
Nika Melia is a former chairman of the “United National Movement” (UNM), a party created by Mikhail Saakashvili. Like Gvaramia, he is also a former prisoner, accused of storming the parliament on June 20, 2019. The European Union posted bail for him.
On January 30, 2023, the UNM conducted internal elections to determine a new chairman. Levan Khabaishvili won the chairmanship with 52.58% of the vote. Nika Melia came in second but, despite the defeat, did not leave the party and congratulated Khabaishvili on his victory. However, the rivalry between the two leaders continued, intensified, and eventually led to the party splitting into two factions – supporters of Melia and supporters of Khabaishvili.
