The Chairman of the Georgian Dream (GD), Irakli Kobakhidze said on Thursday that the resignation of the Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Gakharia was “an unfortunate fact”.

“As you know, Giorgi Gakharia has decided to resign from the post of Prime Minister. He was a member of our political team and it is unfortunate that he made such a decision. There was indeed a discussion in the team about the timing of the execution of the court decision against Nika Melia. Giorgi Gakharia had a different position from the other members of the team; however, we could not hear the arguments that would strengthen his position,” Kobakhidze said at a briefing.

He also called the chairman of the United National Movement, (UNM) NIka Melia to obey the law:

“A country where law enforcement is not ensured, cannot become a state. Moreover, not enforcing the law properly is what promotes political radicalization and polarization in the country. I call on Nika Melia to obey the law; otherwise the government will ensure law enforcement and his arrest”.

On February 18 PM Gakharia resigned citing disagreement with his party colleagues over the detention of Nika Melia. This follows the Tbilisi City Court’s decision to send 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.