The composition of a newly formed parliamentary commission investigating the United National Movement (UNM) government has been confirmed.
The ruling Georgian Dream party will be represented by Thea Tsulukiani, Tengiz Sharmanashvili, Aleksandre Tabatadze, Aluda Ghudushauri, and Paata Salia. The opposition’s quota will be filled by members of People’s Power – Sozar Subari, Guram Macharashvili – and European Socialists – Ilia Injia- both of which split from Georgian Dream after the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Those elections remain contested, with opposition parties, Georgia’s fifth president, and international partners raising concerns over their legitimacy. Demonstrators continue to call for fresh elections through mass protests.
The investigative commission, established for three months with the possibility of an extension to six months, was approved by 83 Georgian Dream MPs on February 5.
Georgian Dream had pledged before the elections to seek a “strict political and legal verdict” against the UNM. The party aimed to secure a constitutional majority in parliament – at least 113 seats in the 150-member state legislature- to push through such measures but fell short of that goal.
Georgian Dream leader Mamuka Mdinaradze in January outlined the commission’s mandate, saying it would investigate allegations of prisoner torture, cases of murder, violence, and privacy violations, corruption, business pressure, and media takeovers, the recognition of the start of the August 2008 war and allegations of war crimes against Georgian military personnel.
Mdinaradze emphasized that the military leadership and rank-and-file soldiers would not be targets of the war-related investigation.
This year marks the 16th anniversary of the August 2008 war, and Georgian Dream has intensified its rhetoric regarding UNM’s responsibility.
“We have only hinted at the crimes committed by the National Movement in 2008, which had its objective reason… We will be the plaintiff in this process, and the National Movement will have to be held collectively accountable for the treasonous crime committed against the country and the people,” the party said on the war’s anniversary.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze in September directly accused former President Mikheil Saakashvili of instigating the war, claiming “the war in 2008 was started by the Saakashvili regime, which it later acknowledged by signing a Council of Europe resolution. Georgia did not start the war; Saakashvili rigged the presidential elections in 2008, and after that, his illegitimate regime started the war in August. This was a reality that he and his party signed.”
The 2008 conflict resulted in 228 Georgian civilian deaths, along with 14 police officers and 169 military personnel, according to the Ministry of Defense. More than 1,700 people were wounded, and around 150,000 were displaced. To this day, approximately 30,000 remain unable to return home.
Georgia lost control over 189 villages due to the war, 125 of which remain under Russian occupation.
