Wanted ex-Presiden about “deals against him”

Georgia’s former president, Mikheil Saakashvili, who remains wanted on several charges in Georgia and who recently served as Odessa’s Governor in Ukraine, continues addressing the supporters of the United National Movement opposition, the party which was established by him and ran Georgia between 2003-2012, until it was defeated by the Georgian Dream coalition founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili in the 2012 Parliamentary race.

“I know many things; a lot of deals are taking place,” Saakashvili addressed the UNM supporters in Samegrelo region, west Georgia, yesterday.

According to him, “many lies are being spread about him” and there are people [within the UNM] “playing Ivanishvili’s game” against him.

He stressed it was a lie that he left the country of his own volition and stood against the initiative of almost half of the UNM key figures to deprive Saakashvili of the party’s presidency.

“The fact that I'm fighting here in Ukraine does not mean that I am giving up the fight in Georgia. It is a lie that my role should be only symbolic today. My enemies in Russia, including in Ukraine, say that I was let down by my party. This is a direct attack on me and on the National Movement,” Saakashvili stated.

“It is a pity that Saakashvili is engaged in shattering the party and is making absolutely groundless allegations,” one of the new faces of the UNM, Elene Khoshtaria, stated.

"We believe that the only way to defeat Ivanishvili is to increase the number of our voters through unity, which includes Saakashvili, who currently is not in Georgia, and an effective chairman of the party. This issue, unfortunately, caused a very strange reaction from Saakashvili,” Khoshtaria stated.

It is not the first time that Saakashvili has claimed there are parts of the UNM who are “against him”.

It is very obvious as well that the new, younger wing of the UNM is trying to distance themselves and the party from Saakashvili.

As it appears, Saakashvili is afraid of losing his influence in the party, and does not even refrain from causing controversy within the main opposition party that will weaken the UNM‘s influence; the party gained only 27 seats out of the 150-member legislative body through the October’s Parliamentary Elections.