Georgian Dream is trying to show that the shameful candidate, who has been announced as the so-called president, has power – you have to beg and wait for a pardon... These people do not enjoy legitimacy, public support, but they are trying to show: “We have power, people, we don’t care if we are legitimate or not, we will treat you like this!” - Levan Sanikidze, one of the leaders of the United National Movement, stated on Palitranews while talking about the pardoning of prisoners by Mikheil Kavelashvili.

As Levan Sanikidze noted, you cannot assume one day that “Ivanishvili will show mercy and release people” and the next day talk about him being Putin’s “last Mohican” in the Caucasus.

“Georgian Dream is trying to show that the shameful candidate, who has been announced as the so-called president, has power – you have to beg and wait for a pardon... These people do not enjoy legitimacy, public support, but they are trying to show: “We have power, people, we don’t care if we are legitimate or not, we will treat you like this!”

Ivanishvili’s human qualities have atrophied. Especially when they make political decisions. This is a group of prisoners, most of whom have had hard times. All the propaganda worked to discredit them.

If we are talking about pragmatic politics, these people should not have been arrested. Georgian Dream could have much easier shown as if the situation in this country had normalized.

There are different groups that have been arrested on political charges at different times. Even if they release a group, they will leave a larger group in prison. This is human trafficking, it is a disaster. The principles of the rule of law have been destroyed, we are talking about a de facto president, a prime minister. These verdicts are irrelevant, not recognized by the civilized world. How can the situation be easily normalized in this situation?!

We, especially to my colleague political actors, will have to pay more attention: you cannot assume one day that Ivanishvili will show mercy and release people he innocently arrested, and the next day talk about him being Putin's "last Mohican" in the Caucasus and at the same time the man who poisoned the population with chemical weapons. If this is who this man is, you should not be surprised that he behaves this way. I expected the Georgian Dream to do exactly that," Sanikidze noted.

In addition to the aforementioned topic, Levan Sanikidze also spoke about the process of creating a political alternative that is underway among individual opposition parties. As he noted, it is impossible to bring change to this country without opposition unity, although we should not have "visual opposition unity, there should be no mutual attacks and throwing stones at each other's gardens."

“We are constantly talking, we are actively involved in consultations with various actors. We all understand that without opposition unity, it is impossible to bring change to this country. This is a challenge in the sense that it is impossible for one party to have this level of support, but at the same time it is also an opportunity. We are quite positive, at least, that it is possible based on public interest. I see the public response, I talk to people on Rustaveli Avenue, in public transport, at gathering places, when an opposition voter comes to you, tells you why you can’t stand together. I believe that this requires a more serious approach, there is no need to raise expectations yet. We should not have visual opposition unity. If we are united, there should be no mutual attacks, there should be no throwing stones in each other’s garden, we should collect assets against Ivanishvili in a single piggy bank. I am convinced, including based on Ivanishvili’s actions, that for a large part of the opposition, there is no other way out,” Sanikidze noted.

In addition, he also spoke about the current situation in the United National Movement and responded to the information that there is a conflict in the party and that Levan Sanikidze will presumably replace Tina Bokuchava, the chairwoman of the National Movement. As Sanikidze explains, “this is disinformation that the Georgian Dream spread, while the National Movement as an opposition party has changed significantly, is moving towards change, transformation.

“This is disinformation that the Georgian Dream spread when their former party chair was arrested. It is impossible for such a challenge to exist in the National Movement, especially in the difficult situation that the political spectrum is facing.

The National Movement is motivated, works effectively, especially on the foreign front, and is doing its best to create opposition unity. At the same time, we must take into account the objective circumstances that the United National Movement has. Mikheil Saakashvili has been in prison for more than 4 years. It is a disaster when a leader is in prison and you have to operate in such a situation. Added to this is a new group of political prisoners, Levan Khabeishvili, Irakli Nadiradze... These are objective facts, the party no longer has parliamentary representation, no parliamentary funding, no representatives in the Sakrebulo. The situation in which the National Movement was for 12 years as an opposition party has changed significantly. [Not towards the end] It is moving more towards change, transformation. It has been announced that the National Movement will be abolished, the party is working on how to respond to the challenges and in what form,” Sanikidze noted.