Ruling Georgian Dream party chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili said in a January 11 missive that he quits the party chairmanship, the party itself and politics “for good,” noting his “mission is complete.”

As he stated in his letter, in 2012 a peaceful transfer of power did not take place, "In reality, at the time, the Georgian Dream won a war and forced the violent ruling team to cede the power".

"I would like to remind you that the 2012 parliamentary elections were a classic example of one of the most flagrant instances of falsification, intimidation, bribery, and harassment of political opponents organized by the authorities at the time. Today, some people shamelessly boast that a peaceful transfer of power allegedly took place at the time, which, as always, is a lie and amounts to cynicism, as per tradition. In reality, in 2012, the Georgian Dream won a war and, through pressure and the sheer number of its supporters, forced the violent ruling team to cede the power, which they had captured over the years, in a democratic manner. Now, the situation has changed substantially – the Georgian Dream has achieved victory with a convincing advantage in free and democratic elections twice in a row, which clearly and unequivocally confirms our signature. Sullying the dignity and the choice of the people due to the temptation to retain power is alien to the current ruling team. We will never deviate from the path of democracy and freedom, which was properly appreciated by the wise Georgian public when it entrusted us with the privilege of being in power once again.", Ivanishvili said in his letter.

Ivanishvili is head of the Georgian Dream party and served as prime minister in 2012 and 2013.