Candidate for UNM chair calls for ending “dirty, criminal” approaches in politics, slams UNM head Melia

Giorgi Mumladze, who is running for the chair of the United National Movement opposition party – the largest opposition group in the country, on Tuesday responded to a recent publication of an  illegal audio recording in social media, with the incumbent chair of the UNM, Nika Melia, apparently heard to insulting a currently imprisoned former president Mikheil  Saakashvili. 

Claiming that Melia had “never hid his negative attitude” towards Saakashvili, Mumladze accused the party chair of “deliberate campaign” against him with the use of social media trolls and fake accounts, calling for the end of “dirty, criminal approaches” in politics. 

“Those who had this recording and had kept it until now, are no less dangerous than Melia”, Muladze said in his social media post. 

He claimed Melia, “who is operating social media trolls and bots”, had spread a number of fake information against him, which included Mumladze “running with brooms” at election rallies, stealing emigrants’ money for his own benefit, campaigning against Melia for the money he had received from former UNM officials David Kezerashvili and Vano Merabishvili, sparking tension inside the party on the instructions of the country’s state security service, putting forward his candidacy for the UNM chair to later remove it in favor of another candidate Levan Khabeishvli, cheating Saakashvili to meet him upon his clandestine return to Georgia in September 2021 and paying money to David Saakashvili to appear next to him. Mumladze stressed the individuals who were engaged in spreading fake news against him had been “outraged” by the release of the audio recording against Melia.

“Is it acceptable or moral to spread fake information against me”, Mumladze asked the individuals.

He stressed Melia was unable to do “anything worse than he did against me and my friends” [last year]. 

Recalling a visit to the UNM headquarters with his colleagues “at the request of Melia”, Mumladze said the former had instructed his hired people to “beat and kill us”, and even stropped the elevator to prevent their escape in a bid to “take revenge” [allegedly for their critical comments towards him].  

 

“This was a classic behavior of a man with a dangerous criminal mentality, who should never have any power. We have to end these dirty, criminal approaches very soon if we want the struggle of the UNM  to bring something beneficial and effective,” Mumladze wrote.

The audio recording involving Melia was allegedly made prior to the 2021 municipal elections in Georgia, ahead of Saakashvili’s clandestine return to Georgia after eight years in self-imposed political exile.