Bacho Dolidze, a member of the United National Movement, said the former Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili could be behind the recent release of illegal audio recording involving the party’s Chairman Nika Melia.

In the recording, published on social media, Melia is apparently heard recalling his phone conversation with Mikheil Saakashvili, ahead of the 2021 municipal elections in Georgia, and insults him for his views while also stating his views on the possibility of Saakashvili’s return to Georgia from Ukraine.

In comments over the recording, Dolidze claimed the former Interior Minister could have initiated the “illegal move” to hamper Melia’s re-election to the position.

He claimed that Nika Melia’s absence from UNM leadership would also benefit the Georgian Dream and “ease its fight” with the “main opposition party”.