In 2007, he worked as an advisor in the Department of Defense and Law Enforcement of the Office of the National Security Council of Georgia.

In 2016–19, he was a member of the Parliament of Georgia of the ninth convocation by party list, election bloc: "United National Movement".

In June 2019, the court rejected prosecution motion for pre-trial detention and ordered Melia to post a bail, wear a monitoring bracelet and also to surrender his passport during the investigation.

[citation needed] On 1 November 2020, Melia was one of the leaders of the opposition rally demanding repeat parliamentary elections.

In December 2020, after the resignation of Grigol Vashadze, Melia was elected as the chairman of the United National Movement.

[7][8] After Melia's refusal to pay the bail, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced him to a pre-trial detention.

Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia wanted to postpone the arrest to avoid political tensions between the government and the opposition, but he failed to achieve an agreement with his party colleagues and subsequently announced his resignation, causing a government crisis.

The Delegation of the European Union in Georgia said in a statement on 8 May: "Today, a bail worth 40.000 GEL was posted to allow for Mr. Melia's release from pre-trial detention.

[11] Melia's decision was in reaction to the Georgian Dream's withdrawal from the agreement signed with the opposition on the electoral and judicial reforms.

[12] In January 2023, Melia was defeated by Levan Khabeishvili in the United National Movement's internal elections and unseated as the party's chairman.