United National Movement

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2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Who’s who in Georgia’s parliamentary elections?

by Shota Kincha

•13 min read

Georgians will go to the polls on 26 October in crucial parliamentary elections. Unlike in previous years, this election will be held under a fully proportional system. This means parties will be allocated a percentage of parliament’s 150 seats based entirely on the percentage of votes they receive nationwide, doing away with elections for individual MPs in single-seat constituencies. However, despite calls from many smaller parties, and despite previously promising the opposite, the ruling

Teona Kardava attacking UNM MP Ana Tsitlidze. Still via Formula.

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Georgian Dream and UNM supporters clash in western Georgia

by OC Media

•2 min read

An MP from the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party has said that she and members of the party were attacked by supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream party in western Georgia. MP Ana Tsitlidze claimed that she and her party’s supporters were harassed by a group of 50 Georgian Dream supporters on Thursday while distributing UNM leaflets in Zugdidi. She said that the group that had harassed them were wearing T-shirts with Georgian Dream logos on them. Hours later, RFE/RL repo

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Government opponents threatened and attacked in Georgia

by OC Media

•2 min read

Several opponents of the Georgian Government have reported being threatened or even attacked over the weekend, as the election campaign ahead of October’s parliamentary poll gets underway. Zura Zabakhidze, a member of the United National Movement–led Unity coalition, told journalists that he was approached and threatened by two unknown men on Saturday. He said the men approached him near his home and told him to leave ‘active political life’ or that ‘the results would not be delayed’. ‘Th

Still from video showing Irakli Edzgveradze’s arrest. Screenshots via RFE/RL.

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Georgian police arrest UNM members of Tbilisi City Council

by OC Media

•2 min read

Georgian Police have arrested two members of the Tbilisi City Council from the opposition United National Movement. While one has since been released, the other remains in pre-trial detention and has accused the police of physical abuse. The two have been charged with disorderly conduct and disobeying police, and face fines or up to 15 days administrative arrest. UNM member Irakli Edzgveradze, who remains in custody, was arrested near his home in Tbilisi on Wednesday evening. Footage o

An uprooted baobab tree in Kenya being exported to Georgia. November, 2022. Image: Kevin Odit / Nation Media Group.

Bidzina Ivanishvili

Ivanishvili-linked dendrological park blasts opposition over death of Kenyan baobab trees

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

All eight baobab trees imported from Kenya to the Ivanishvili-founded Shekvetili Dendrological Park have died, with the park blaming the opposition United National Movement (UNM). In a sharply-worded statement on Friday, the park rebuked what it called ‘ambushing politicos’ and ‘so-called non-governmental organisations’ for raising the alarm over Ivanishvili’s apparent quest to acquire baobab trees from Kenya’s Kilifi region. This turned the issue into an ‘ideological battleground on African c

A protest in Tbilisi against Russia’s role in the war in August 2018. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

2008 August War

Georgian Dream accuses former government of ‘provoking’ 2008 War

by OC Media

•3 min read

The ruling Georgian Dream party has accused the formerly ruling opposition of starting and provoking the August 2008 War, vowing again to punish the opposition after October’s parliamentary elections. In a statement about the August 2008 War, Georgian Dream railed on the role the formerly ruling United National Movement (UNM) in the conflict. They cited a 2008 Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly report on the conflict suggesting that Georgia’s shelling of Tskhinvali (Tskhinval) without wa

Bidzina Ivanishvili at the opening ceremony of a new Georgian Dream office and launch of their pre-election campaign. Photo: Georgian Dream.

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Ivanishvili promises crackdown on opposition after elections

by OC Media

•5 min read

Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili has threatened legal sanctions against opposition to the ruling party at a ceremony opening the party’s new HQ and announcing the beginning of their election campaign. ‘To ensure the steady development of the country, it is essential to hold the collective National Movement fully accountable in front of the Georgian people and the law’, Georgian Dream’s billionaire founder said in a rare public appearance on Tuesday evening. The party has used th