TBILISI, August 3 – The United National Movement (UNM), which swept to power in Georgia’s 2003 Rose Revolution and ruled the country for a decade, overhauling public institutions and firing the entire police force, is now facing the prospect of being outlawed.
A controversial parliamentary investigation is set to conclude on August 5 with a report that could have sweeping implications for Georgia’s opposition parties, especially the UNM.
Since winning power in 2012, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has steadily chipped away at UNM’s reputation, portraying the reformist era as a front for political repression and Orwellian surveillance. These attacks on UNM’s legacy tend to intensify in the run-up to elections.
Its former leader, ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, has already been brought to account for what many in the GD camp would consider regime crimes. He is currently imprisoned in a Tbilisi clinic, serving multiple criminal sentences. Now, perhaps, comes the final blow to his party.
The investigative committee, chaired by MP Tea Tsulukiani, a former judge at the European Court of Human Rights, claims to have found evidence that the 2003 revolution was “a coup disguised as a velvet revolution,” and that the UNM governed as an “anti-Georgian regime.”
All signs point to the committee recommending that the UNM and affiliated groups be designated as criminal organizations and banned.
Such a ban would likely reach far beyond the UNM itself. Since 2012, the party has fragmented, with many senior figures now active in other opposition groupings. A ban could thus affect most of Georgia’s pro-European opposition landscape.
Whether such a move would survive legal review remains to be seen. Analysts quoted by newspaper Rezonansi say the case could go to the Constitutional Court, which might block or greenlight further action, including potential cases against ex-officials like former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia.
Critics call the probe politically motivated and a threat to democratic pluralism. The government insists it is pursuing justice based on documented evidence.
