Opposition United National Movement (UNM) held its 13th congress on August 5, electing an interim “governing council” and its head, Irakli Pavlenishvili, to lead the party for six months until a new permanent chair is chosen, while a separate “Reformers’ Board” intended to be independent of the UNM and include people from outside the party will make recommendations on its future direction.
The congress took place a month after the mandates of the UNM leadership, including chair Tinatin Bokuchava, expired in early July. The “governing council,” originally intended to have nine members, was formed with eight after Bokuchava declined to join but decided to remain on the UNM political council. The governing council members are Pavlenishvili, Petre Tsiskarishvili, Ani Tsitlidze, Giorgi Chaladze, Lasha Parulava, Giorgi Botkoveli, Levan Bezhashvili and Irakli Nadiradze.
Meanwhile, the “Reformers’ Board” which is yet to be formed, will be led by UNM founder and jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili, while longtime journalist and TV personality Nanuka Zhorzholiani, who gained prominence during the ongoing anti-government protests through her fundraising work, will be its secretary general, Saakashvili announced a day before the congress. The board is intended to include non-partisan figures, with its future recommendations reportedly set to be binding on the UNM.
“The United National Movement congress was held brilliantly,” Saakashvili wrote in a Facebook post shortly after the congress. “An amazing group of people came together,” he said. He also said Bokuchava “took a very right position” and thanked her for her work as party chair over the past two years.
“Now it is up to our young people, our experienced fighters, Nanuka [Zhorzholiani] and the Reformers’ Board. I am proud of our fellow comrades and we are preparing for great battles,” Saakashvili added. “Strength is in unity.”
The congress and interim governing structure come as the UNM, a ruling party in 2004-2012 and later a major opposition force, seeks to regain its prominence among the opposition after years of declining public support. They also come amid a wider, protracted political crisis in the country, as opposition forces continue to struggle to offer a credible alternative to Georgian Dream.
The UNM is among the opposition forces that Georgian Dream has named in a constitutional appeal seeking to ban several opposition parties. Saakashvili, who is serving prison sentences following convictions on multiple charges, is also among seven other opposition figures charged with “sabotage” and facing years in prison.
The interim governance arrangement followed internal tensions within the UNM over its future structure and leadership. In June, Saakashvili invited Zhorzholiani to join the party and take over as chair to lead “revolutionary changes.” Zhorzholiani declined, citing her lack of experience in party politics. There had reportedly also been a proposal for Zhorzholiani and Bokuchava to serve as co-chairs, but Bokuchava rejected the arrangement, saying she did not see sharing the party leadership as feasible.
Further tensions came ahead of the August 5 congress. Bokuchava was absent from a political council meeting last week that set the congress date. She was on vacation with her family and said the party leadership had been aware of her absence from Tbilisi in advance. Bokuchava said that the meeting had failed to reach the necessary quorum and called it and its decisions “illegitimate,” prompting backlash from within the party. She nevertheless attended the congress after uncertainty over whether she would appear.
Zhorzholiani, who is still not formally a UNM member, was absent from the congress. She recently launched the “I Love Georgia” campaign, under which she plans to tour the country down to the smallest villages. The campaign began in Anaklia on Georgia’s Black Sea coast days before the UNM congress. According to Zhorzholiani, the campaign is intended to involve anyone who “loves” Georgia, rather than only UNM members or affiliates.
The initiative appears to form part of the “Reformers’ Board’s” planned work to examine wider political and socio-economic issues, assess the challenges facing the party and set its priorities. When Saakashvili offered Zhorzholiani the UNM chairmanship, she repeatedly stressed the importance of grassroots mobilization and the need to address its lack within the party.
