“My hesitation is over, I support participation in the elections after Badri [Japaridze] and Mamuka [Khazaradze] were arrested,” one of the leaders of the Strong Georgia coalition, Aleko Elisashvili, told the media.

According to Elisashvili, he always stands by his political partners, Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze.

“At times, I believed it was right— that we shouldn’t give up anything without a fight. I’d ask myself, shouldn’t we participate in the local elections? But then I’d think, how can we enter a completely rigged game? And I’d worry, later saying to myself— they’ll falsify it for us, they’ll manipulate the results. I hesitated because of these doubts. My hesitation ended the moment they put handcuffs on Badri and Mamuka.

After their arrest, I fully support participating in elections. That was the stance of these brave individuals. I stand with them, and I will not abandon these people in their trials.

Both Badri and Mamuka were calling out, saying, ‘Come on, let’s discuss this.’ That call— ‘come on, let’s discuss it’—has somehow become a symbol of despair in our nation. What has happened that we should simply sit down and accept it? Yes, I admit, sometimes I didn’t like it; internally, I was torn— sometimes agreeing, sometimes not. Sometimes I thought it was the right path, other times I doubted. I listened to all sides during the political council meetings. I weighed different perspectives.

Now, I am in this position because those who are my political allies are in prison. I stand by them, and I will continue to do so. The question of whether I believe in this or not— that’s over. That phase has ended. I will fight, even if it seems hopeless. Because these people took this stand, and I will stand with them,” declared Aleko Elisashvili.