A dispute has emerged within Georgia’s opposition United National Movement (UNM) over whether a recent meeting of the party’s Political Council was legally valid.
UNM Chair Tina Bokuchava claims the Political Council meeting held on 30 July, which scheduled the party’s congress for 5 August, lacked the required quorum and was therefore not authorized to make decisions.
Speaking to TV Pirveli, Bokuchava said only around 40 people attended the meeting, while the Political Council consists of 130 members.
“If there was no quorum, the meeting was not authorized to decide on the date of the congress or the procedures required to convene it legally,” she said.
Bokuchava added that she had asked UNM Secretary General Petre Tsiskarishvili to provide the meeting’s minutes and attendance signatures but said her request was denied.
She also argued that, with the ruling Georgian Dream seeking to ban the UNM through the Constitutional Court, the party could not afford to hold meetings that might later be challenged as unlawful.
Bokuchava suggested the decision to hold the congress as quickly as possible stemmed from instructions from imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili, whom she described as the party’s founder and leader.
UNM officials rejected Bokuchava’s claims.
Secretary General Petre Tsiskarishvili said the Political Council has 119 members, not 130, and insisted the meeting had the required quorum.
“The Political Council meeting was fully authorized to make decisions,” Tsiskarishvili said, adding that the party had already postponed the congress to 5 August to accommodate Bokuchava’s schedule after she said she would be out of Tbilisi until 3 August.
UNM member Ana Tsitlidze also criticized Bokuchava’s remarks, describing them as “a pathetic attempt to retain her position” and accusing her of prioritizing a holiday over party affairs.
The UNM’s 13th party congress is scheduled for 5 August. Bokuchava has said she will attend only if her concerns over the legality of the Political Council meeting are resolved.
