Georgia
UNM criticises Zourabichvili for saying political unity is ‘unattainable’
Georgia’s fifth president had said that political unity between opposition groups was ‘externally imposed’ and ‘unattainable’.
Levan Khabeishvili
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Ahali
UNM to appoint new party chair
Levan Khabeishvili is stepping down as the chair of the United National Movement (UNM), Georgia’s largest opposition party, with Tina Bokuchava set to take over as leader. Speaking at a briefing on Saturday, Khabeishvili said that he had decided to leave the post in relation to his health, stating that his doctors had ‘strictly recommended’ that he not work as intensely for the next two or three months. Bokuchava will be the first woman to chair the party. Khabeishvili announced that
Georgia
Former Georgian opposition leader Nika Melia to form new party
The former chair of the United National Movement (UNM) has announced he is leaving to found his own party, following months of speculation and internal conflict within Georgia’s largest opposition party. At a briefing on Thursday evening, Nika Melia said the UNM had made ‘informal management and behind-the-scenes influences’ its political standard, and accused the party of being politically corrupt. He added that the party was in the habit of ‘persecuting dissent’ and ‘closing the door to de
Georgia
Dozens of UNM council members leave party in opposition to current chair
Around 60 United National Movement (UNM) regional councillors and senior members have formally left Georgia’s largest opposition group, with some saying that they would join the party’s former chair, Nika Melia, if he launched his own party. Several city councillors and members of the UNM in Khobi, Batumi, Zugdidi, and Chiatura have left the party this week as tensions between Melia and Levan Khabeishvili, the current chair of the party, come to a head. On Wednesday, 10 out of 11 UNM Khobi C
Georgia
Former UNM chair Nika Melia ‘no longer’ a member of the party
The United National Movement’s Chair, Levan Khabeishvili, has said that the party’s former leader, Nika Melia, is ‘not a member’ of the party anymore. In an interview with Formula on Sunday, Khabeishvili appeared to dodge questions about Melia’s current status within the party. Speculation about whether Melia was still a member of the UNM peaked after he and several key supporters within the party refused to sign a ‘manifesto of unity’ last week. Khabeishvili and other party leaders warned
Freedom of the Press
Georgian opposition leader ejected from foreign agent hearing after being attacked by committee chair
The leader of the opposition United National Movement party (UNM) has been ejected from the Legal Affairs Committee hearing on the draft foreign agent law, after being attacked by the committee’s chair. Georgian Dream MP Anri Okhanashvili slapped Levan Khabeishvili in the face but was allowed to continue to oversee Monday’s hearing, while Khabeishvili was dragged away by parliamentary security. Khabeishvili, the newly elected chair of Georgia’s largest opposition party, approached Okhanashvi
Armenia
Podcast | The UNM’s political stunt and mounting tensions between Baku and Tehran
Mariam Nikuradze talks about Levan Khabeishvili’s election as the United National Movement’s chair and recent statements about pulling the party out of the parliament in exchange for Mikheil Saakashvili’s release from prison. Read more: * New UNM leader vows party will leave parliament if Saakashvili is freed Ismi Aghayev discusses the fatal 27 January attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran and its effects on the already strained Baku–Tehran relations. Read mor
