Gakharia resigned as PM on orders from ‘external forces’ to hinder Georgian Dream, ruling party MP

Georgian Dream MP Levan Machavariani has claimed that former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia resigned in 2021 at the direction of “external forces” in an effort to prevent the ruling party from securing a parliamentary majority.

Speaking during a parliamentary session on Tuesday, Machavariani said Gakharia had offered “many different versions” of the reasons for his resignation over time, including during his testimony before a parliamentary commission. He pointed in particular to Gakharia’s confirmation that he had met with foreign ambassadors before stepping down.

“Of course, Gakharia resigned on the instructions of external forces, and he resigned because the Georgian Dream had a 53% barrier [to overcome], and he had to prevent it from crossing that barrier,” Machavariani said.

He claimed that Gakharia’s political project was intended to take votes away from Georgian Dream ahead of the elections, but said the effort had failed.

Machavariani further accused Gakharia’s For Georgia party of later coordinating with opposition parties, including Lelo, and alleged that foreign actors had instructed them to participate in the 2025 local elections and subsequently enter Parliament after a failed attempt at a “revolution” on 4 October.

He also accused the opposition of acting on foreign instructions in its opposition to Georgia’s law on transparency of foreign influence and legislation restricting what the government describes as LGBT propaganda.

Machavariani said the opposition’s electoral performance demonstrated that voters had “decoded” its alleged links with external actors, citing the 2025 local elections, when he said For Georgia failed to win a seat on Tbilisi City Council.

Gakharia resigned as prime minister on 18 February 2021, days before the arrest of then-UNM chairman Nika Melia. At the time, Gakharia said he had failed to reach agreement with his team over the manner and timing of Melia’s detention, warning that it could further escalate political tensions.