Ruling party Sec-Gen slams alleged party under ex-UNM official, pardoned media manager

Kakha Kaladze,the ruling Georgian Dream party Secretary General, on Friday criticized an alleged party creation by Nika Gvaramia, the former official under the previous United National Movement Government and a former media manager, who was pardoned by the President last year. 

 

The comment came following Gvaramia’s social media post on Thursday, which allegedly unveiled the party’s name as New and featured its potential members. 

 

In his press comments, Kaladze, who also serves as the Mayor of Tbilisi, labeled Gvaramia as a “member of the radical wing” of the domestic opposition, accusing him of being engaged in “dirty, anti-state activities” over the years. 

 

He further claimed Gvaramia was an “old face, not new”, and was “closely affiliated” with the “bloody rule” of the UNM. 

 

Gvaramia served as the Deputy Prosecutor General and the Minister of Justice and Education under the UNM. 

 

He then headed the domestic Rustavi 2 TV channel between 2012-2019, after the current GD authorities defeated the UNM in general elections, before the European Court of Human Rights returned 100 percent of the channel’s shares to its former owner. 

 

Following that Gvaramia founded the Mtavari Arkhi channel, but was jailed in 2022 for improper commercial agreements in 2015 and 2019, when he held a top post  in Rustavi 2. 

 

After the presidential pardon in June 2023, Gvaramia announced his political plans, with no official presentations held so far.