Georgian Parliament official claims external actors try to separate domestic Lelo, For Georgia parties from UNM

Levan Machavariani, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and Deputy Chair of the parliamentary faction of the ruling party, on Friday weighed in on the ongoing developments within Georgia's opposition, characterising them as an internal struggle for influence.

In his remarks, Machavariani noted that all four domestic radical parties wanted to be favoured by the informal oligarchic rule, the deep state.

“We see the rebranding process directly within the collective United National Movement, from these external actors. They are trying to further differentiate Lelo and Gakharia's party from the United National Movement”, Machavariani said.

“They well understand that the 'new' party they tried to sell to the people in the last elections was not accepted by the public, because everyone realizes that we are talking about the same force. They cannot bet on the United National Movement because they couldn't erase the past that follows them, and they never will. Therefore, they have placed their bets on these two parties, and this spectacle of differentiation is underway”, he concluded.