Ex-Pres Saakashvili calls for opposition unity, says investors would back single party

Georgia’s third president, Mikheil Saakashvili, has called for the consolidation of opposition forces, arguing that the creation of a unified party would shift political financing dynamics and reduce support for what he described as fragmented political projects.

In a statement posted on social media, Saakashvili said that many political groups formed in recent years function less as ideology-driven parties with grassroots bases and more as “political projects” backed by specific investors and negotiators.

He said these backers often treat such groups as personal assets or bargaining tools, which in his view creates resistance to broader political unification.

Saakashvili linked the current political environment to what he described as increasing repression, referencing his imprisonment, the detention of other individuals he called political prisoners, and restrictions affecting parties, emigrants’ voting rights and businesses’ ability to express political positions.

He argued that a government relying on such measures is “in reality very weak” and said the opposition should intensify efforts toward unity.

Saakashvili noted that several political groups had responded to his call for consolidation by expressing readiness to cooperate around a shared strategy, but not to merge into a single structure. He described this as a fundamental problem in Georgian politics.

He added that, despite structural and financial pressures within these political groups, individuals within them should take the initiative to support unification. “When a single party is created, investors will be forced to finance it rather than think about new, separate projects,” Saakashvili wrote.