“It does not make sense that people in Tbilisi do not deserve a boycott, while in Khashuri or elsewhere they do. As far as I know, this is Elisashvili’s statement, not the final decision of the Lelo party,” stated Ana Buchukuri, a member of the Gakharia for Georgia party.

She added, “We made a clear decision: we will participate in the elections everywhere. That means we will be present in all regions.”

Buchukuri was questioned about coalition leader Aleko Elisashvili’s statement, saying: “We will contest in six major cities, and boycott the rest.”

“We are not planning to boycott. We have made our position clear: we will participate in the elections everywhere. It makes no sense to me that residents of Tbilisi deserve to vote, while in Khashuri or other places, they should boycott,” she emphasised.

Buchukuri also addressed Elisashvili’s remarks regarding candidates, specifically his statement: “Common candidates — Salome Zourabichvili is the leader in Tbilisi, and we support her.”

According to Buchukuri, the Gakharia for Georgia party had already considered nominating Salome Zourabichvili as Tbilisi’s mayoral candidate several months ago.

“As for Zourabichvili’s candidacy, we had this idea about 7-8 months ago. Of course, she decides to accept or decline. Before Lelo made their decision, we had already begun exploring neutral, non-partisan candidates, and we will discuss common candidates together. Regarding Elisashvili’s statements, I can only speak to what he has publicly said. I am unsure whether Lelo as a party has officially decided to participate in certain regions while boycotting others. I believe this is not a final decision—so far, it’s only Aleko Elisashvili’s words. Regardless of whose idea it is, I assure you we will not boycott anywhere. Our team has never had communication issues. Many tried to portray disagreements, but Lelo and our party have always maintained open and constructive communication. We discuss many issues openly,” Buchukuri affirmed.

Regarding the opposition’s planned protest rally, she remarked: “Unfortunately, the scale of recent protests has diminished, and there are reasons for that.”

“Sadly, these protests have not been as massive lately. Many reasons contribute to this. It appears that the boycott supporters have further reduced the size of the protests, which I find very sad and incomprehensible. Eight parties claim to be involved, but in reality, only three entities are active.”

Finally, Buchukuri was asked about Levan Khabeishvili’s statements regarding overthrowing the government. She responded:

“Has Khabeishvili promised his voters that he would save Mikheil Saakashvili? Has he succeeded? The only legitimate way to change the government is through peaceful means, namely, elections, in whatever form they may be conducted. Revolution, radicalism, storm, and attempts at overthrow only serve the interests of our country’s enemies, including the occupier. They need to understand this. Perhaps one day, everyone will realise that radical revolutionary scenarios in this country primarily benefit the enemy, including Russia.”