President’s pardon comments on Saakashvili elicit mixed reactions

In a recent interview with Radio Liberty, President Salome Zourabichvili’s comments on the potential pardon of imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili have triggered contrasting responses from Georgia’s political landscape.

 

Members of the ruling Georgian Dream party criticized the President’s stance, citing her earlier statements from 2021 when she unequivocally stated that she would “never pardon Saakashvili.” Kakha Kaladze, the Secretary General of the Georgian Dream, pointed out the President’s “principled position” on the issue and pointed to the apparent shift in her stance.

 

“I do not exclude anything. she makes such statements and has such an agenda, everything is expected”, he said. 

 

Levan Khabeishvili, head of the United National Movement, commended President Zourabichvili for her changed stance, stating that her willingness to consider a pardon could demonstrate support for Georgia’s European future. He endorsed her statement that she refrains from commenting on pardons unless she has the intention to pardon someone.

 

Opposition MP Roman Gotsiridze described the President’s new position as “progressive” and lauded her for acknowledging the potential for reconsideration on the matter.

 

Mikheil Sarjveladze, a Georgian Dream MP, criticized Zourabichvili, suggesting that she may be banking on public forgetfulness or international perceptions.

 

“Zourabichvili either has amnesia himself or she hopes that the entire population of Georgia has it, or the most important thing for her is what people will think abroad”, he said and added the President “was not suitable” for the post and had “no rating”.