TBILISI. April 19 (Interfax) - Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has asked the United National Movement party, which he once founded, to set up a board and appoint him its chairman.
"I am asking the United National Movement party to set up a party board within the next few days and consider my candidacy for the post of board chairman," Saakashvili, who has served his prison sentence at the Vivamedi clinic in Tbilisi for around two years, wrote on his social account on Friday.
Saakashvili said that, despite his isolation, he is ready for active involvement in politics.
Commenting on the ongoing opposition protests against the bill On the Transparency of Foreign Influence, Saakashvili said he fully supported the protest and was opposed to what he described as "Russian law."
"Now is a crucial moment, and we must break the political backbone of the Russian regime in Georgia in the coming days," Saakashvili said.
He urged opposition forces in Georgia to unite and form common party lists for running in the parliamentary elections in October, which, in his opinion, might enable the opposition to win with up to 70% of votes given in its favor.
Saakashvili urged his supporters to make sure that the composition of the Georgian Election Administration's Central Election Commission (CEC) is amended before the upcoming elections.
"We must make sure that the Election Administration is changed and staffed with genuine and reliable people," he said.
Saakashvili secretly arrived in Georgia from abroad on September 29, 2021. He was detained in Tbilisi on October 1 and then put in jail in the city of Rustavi, where he went on a hunger strike. On November 8, Saakashvili was transferred to a prison hospital in Tbilisi without the consent of his relatives or lawyers. He was taken to a military hospital in the town of Gori on November 20. On May 12, 2022, Saakashvili was moved to the Vivamedi clinic in Tbilisi, where he is currently staying.
Several criminal cases were opened against Saakashvili in Georgia. He called his detention unlawful and the charges brought against him falsified.