UNM, allied groups run from abroad 'should be banned', Vice PM

Georgia's Vice Prime Minister Mamuka Mdinaradze said on Friday that the opposition United National Movement (UNM) and its affiliated groups should be banned, describing them as "criminal agent organisations" rather than legitimate political parties.

Mdinaradze argued that organisations he considered criminal should not be allowed to compete for political power.

"The United National Movement and its cluster are not the opposition. They are not political parties. They are criminal agent organisations that should be banned," he said.

Mdinaradze added that if the UNM was regarded as a criminal organisation rather than a political party, then prohibiting both the party and its affiliated groups is a logical consequence.

He also claimed that Georgia currently lacks a genuine opposition, arguing that the political space has been occupied by what he described as "agents", with the exception of several smaller parties that are gradually developing.

"Foreign powers and their agents should never replace the government of a country. That is the logical conclusion, if the starting point is that the United National Movement is a criminal organisation," Mdinaradze said.