Saakashvili Proposes "Council of Reformers" to Lead UNM Overhaul
By Messenger Staff
Thursday, July 9, 2026
Former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has called on the United National Movement to establish a "Council of Reformers," which he would chair, proposing Nanuka Zhorzholiani as Executive Secretary.
In a social media statement, Saakashvili said the Council would be a public platform open to party members and to professionals, patriots, and others outside the party. He pointed to recent public engagement as proof many still see the party as important to Georgia's future, while acknowledging dissatisfaction with the current opposition and announcing systemic reforms.
He noted that under the party charter, all officials' terms expire July 8, thanking outgoing officials and regional supporters. The party enters a transitional period, with a congress planned for late July to elect an interim governing body. Given what he called conditions of dictatorship, he said the only leadership post to be retained, as a sign of solidarity, is that of party leader Levan Khabeishvili, while he remains imprisoned.
Saakashvili said the Council would build a new party structure and oversee the UNM's transformation into a modern, youth-oriented, people-centered movement, operating horizontally with all members holding equal status and prioritizing new and young leaders.
He said his imprisonment has limited his direct contact with society and prevented him from getting to know emerging opposition figures, and that Zhorzholiani would become his main link to the public in her role as Executive Secretary.
In autumn, the Council will present a plan for deeper transformation: a decentralized movement where members and active supporters make decisions, leadership posts are minimal, and internal bodies are elected through universal voting. Saakashvili argued traditional party structures cannot function under dictatorship, so the movement needs a model able to survive even a formal ban, with each member acting as an independent center of activity. The funding model would also be reformed to allow broader direct participation.
"Our goal is not competition with others or pointless debates, but focusing on removing the dictatorship, saving Georgia at this critical historical moment, and returning the country to the path of major reforms," Saakashvili wrote.
Zhorzholiani said the Council was built independently of the party to function as a business coalition, letting supporters take part without formal affiliation. She noted that many avoid being publicly associated with the UNM and that formal membership itself deters some people.
She called the UNM the strongest tool among opposition parties, with Saakashvili handing it over to be reshaped by those willing to work on it and used later as a weapon in the political struggle.
She described the Council as independent of the UNM, including current and former party members and outsiders, some of whom held senior positions in the past. Its role is advisory: it will draft recommendations the UNM can accept or reject. Saakashvili himself, she added, has joined as an ordinary member despite disliking leadership roles, positioning himself as lead reformer rather than head of the party.
