On October 7, Adgur Ardzinba, former economy minister of Kremlin-backed Abkhazia and runner-up of the 2020 Abkhaz leadership race, presented a new opposition organization Abkhaz People’s Movement, Apsnypress news agency reported. Former deputy education minister Dmitry Gvaramia also joined the newly established force.
The Abkhaz People’s Movement reportedly declared protecting “Abkhaz national interests, facing various challenges and threats from time to time” as its primary goal.
In his remarks at the presentation, Adgur Ardzinba noted that he remains in Abkhaz politics, as he feels responsible to those 35% of the population that voted for him in the “presidential elections.”
“After the elections, we decided to give the new government some time to work without impediment. The time has passed, but unfortunately, we do not see a program of development,” Ardzinba went on, adding that “therefore, we consulted with the civil society and veterans’ organizations that backed us in the elections and decided to establish Abkhaz People’s Movement.”
Former Abkhaz leadership hopeful then slammed his rival Aslan Bzhania’s administration for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and accused the new leadership of failure to adopt proactive measures to tackle public health crisis.
Despite the new movement being an opposition force, “we will help government where necessary, and we will give it recommendations where appropriate,” Ardzinba pledged.
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)