Nika Gvaramia, the recently pardoned founder of the opposition-minded Mtavari TV channel, on Wednesday claimed the Georgian Dream ruling power had launched “preparing the public” for “rejected EU candidate status” later this year. 

Gvaramia’s social media post came following the claims by Khatuna Samnidze, the chair of the Republican Party, that unidentified opposition figures had been engaged in “hampering” the country’s EU integration, with the ruling party top figures claiming Gvaramia, the United National Movement and the Lelo opposition parties were “lobbying against” Tbilisi’s obtaining the bloc’s candidate status in December. 

Gvaramia claimed the GD would “fail to shift blame onto others”, and if the EU rejected Georgia’s candidacy in December like in June 2022, it would be “only because the current ruling power has sabotaged the process”.