Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia resigned citing disagreement with his party colleagues over the detention of Nika Melia, leader of the UNM. This follows the Tbilisi City Court’s decision to send United National Movement’s Nika Melia, Chairperson of the largest opposition party, to pretrial detention.

“Unfortunately, I could not reach a common understanding on this matter with my team and decided to resign. I want to hope, that this step would contribute to reduced polarisation in our political space, since I believe that polarization and confrontation pose the greatest risks to our country’s future and economic development,” Gakharia stated.

Gakharia’s statement said that while Melia had “never respected the law” and called “for the storming of the Parliament” on June 20, 2019, the decision to detain him poses unacceptable risks, and unduly complicates the task of economic recovery and the management of pandemic.