Since then, she has been a vocal supporter of the former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's controversial return to the country and has repeatedly called for his release from prison.
A member of the ruling United National Movement, she was seen as a close ally to Koba Khabazi, Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council, and allegedly sided with him during an intra-party conflict between him and regional party leader Levan Varshalomidze.
[4] During the 2008 Georgian parliamentary election, she was recruited by UNM to appear as 15th on its electoral list,[5] winning a seat in the Parliament of Georgia and resigning from her position in Adjara.
In Parliament, she served as vice-chairwoman of the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee, operating as a strong ally to then-President Mikheil Saakashvili.
She notably accused opposition leaders such as Zviad Dzidziguri, Kakha Kukava and Badri Patarkatsishvili of being part of a "Russian plot" to overthrow the government, thus justifying law enforcement's violent dispersal of protests in November 2007.
[11] Following the loss of the 2012 parliamentary elections by UNM, she became part of the opposition, while her position as 36th on the party's electoral list that year[12] prevented her winning her reelection outright.