Georgian Vice Prime Minister rejects UNM as legitimate opposition

Mamuka Mdinaradze, Georgia’s Vice Prime Minister and State Minister for the Coordination of Law Enforcement Agencies, on Friday said that the United National Movement and its political allies were not legitimate opposition parties but “criminal agent network organisations” that should be banned.

In his remarks, Mdinaradze argued that if the United National Movement is considered a criminal organisation rather than a political party, it could not legitimately seek to govern Georgia.

“There is a logical, simple chain of reasoning: is the United National Movement a criminal organisation rather than a party? If so, then a criminal organisation cannot even theoretically be a contender for governing the country. Neither can its branches, and consequently, the banning of parties is a continuation of this logic”, he said.

The Vice PM added that the current opposition landscape was dominated by groups he described as agents of foreign forces.

“There is no opposition today. This niche has been taken over by agents, with the exception of several small parties that are gradually developing, but people find it difficult to believe that those who have left us are truly members of the opposition. I understand that this is easy, and their opposition is not as sharp or substantive. Today, no one is interested in the agenda they have created”, Mdinaradze noted.

He further highlighted that only several smaller political parties represent a developing alternative, although he claimed that many citizens remain sceptical of their political identity.

“As for the rest, the United National Movement and its cluster are not the opposition, nor are they parties. They are criminal agent organisations that must be banned. No rational thinking person should be against this. Foreign forces and agents must never replace the government. This is the reality, and it is the endpoint of a logical chain, the first link of which is that the United National Movement is a criminal organization”, he concluded.