Former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has addressed to the public from Rustavi Prison No.12 earlier today, after yesterday’s large rally of the opposition in central Tbilisi, stating that permanent rallies, in all cities of Georgia, are necessary for winning elections and for his release from prison.
“Yesterday’s rally has assured me that we will win elections (mayoral election runoffs of October 30) and that I will be released from prison. The date of my freedom is dependent on your activiness,” Saakashvili said.
He requested emigrants to arrive in Georgia by the end of the month to vote in the run-offs.
Saakashvili has been on hunger strike since the day of his arrest.
His United National Movement (UNM) opposition party member Levan Bezhashvili said earlier today that the party will organise rallies in all big cities of Georgia to demand the release of the ex-president, who was detained in Tbilisi on October 1, a day before Georgian municipal elections.
Saakashvili claims he returned to Georgia after eight years in political exile to ‘save the country’ from the Georgian Dream leadership.
He and the UNM had plans to win the municipal elections or prevent the ruling party from receiving the 43 percent of the vote in the proportional part of the elections, which per the April 2021 EU-mediated agreement, would lead to snap parliamentary elections.
However, the ruling party received more than 47 percent of the vote in the proportional part and has won most of the mayoral and majoritarian seats.
The run-offs on October 30 will be held in only 20 of 64 election constituencies, while the UNM will run in 17 constituencies.
Saakashvili, who is a citizen of Ukraine and chairs the Executive Committee of the Ukrainian National Reforms Council, wishes to be released from prison before municipal election run-offs on October 30.
The former president was convicted in Georgia in absentia in 2018 and was sentenced to six years in prison for abuse of authority.
He has also been charged with four other offences related to the illegal seizure of property, embezzlement, illegal rally dispersal, and illegal border-crossing.
