Analysis

Saakashvili’s party to run in Ukraine’s parliamentary election

The Movement of New Forces party led by former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has announced that it will run in Ukraine’s snap parliamentary election on July 21.

“As a party, we will run in the [early parliamentary] elections and promote those ideas and projects that we want to implement as a political force,” party leader David Sakvarelidze said on May 30, adding they “have every right” to take part in the election.

Mr Saakashvili returned to Ukraine on May 30 after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky decided to reinstate his citizenship.

Aside from Saakashvili’s movement, the president’s newly formed Servant of the People party will also run in parliamentary elections for the first time. On May 27, President Zelensky nominated his spokesperson, Dmitry Razumkov, to head the new political force.