Badri Japaridze: Unfortunately, some colleagues publicly declared that a boycott was the only correct decision without having coordinated that position with us. I believe that if we all enter the fight together, we will win

“If we all enter this fight together, we will win it — I truly believe that,” said one of the leaders of Lelo – For a Strong Georgia, Badri Japaridze, during an appearance on PalitraNews’s program Polit-City.

According to him, Lelo – For a Strong Georgia is ready to consider the issue of boycotting the elections, but no one should impose preconditions when striving for unity.

“We believe that unity is the key — whether that means participating in the elections or not. This decision must be unified and accompanied by a clear, well-defined plan of what to do before, during, and after. I am ready to consider a boycott, but only if it's not because someone says, ‘I said so, so you must do it,’ but rather because they can convince me it’s the right path. If we truly want unity, no one should set conditions in advance,” Japaridze said.

He added that if any opposition force refuses to come to the negotiation table, it will clearly show that they are not interested in unity.

As Japaridze emphasized, Lelo’s goal is not to divide society but to unify it.

He also noted that the only way to defuse the political crisis in the country is to hold new parliamentary elections and release the so-called prisoners of conscience.

Speaking about the local self-government elections, he said some opposition colleagues declared a boycott without prior coordination with Lelo, and he believes unity can only be achieved through dialogue.

“Unfortunately, our colleagues publicly declared that a boycott was the only correct decision without having coordinated that position with us. We believe that when public unity is essential, it must be achieved through discussion and mutual compromise, not by one side saying, ‘This is the truth, I possess the truth, and everyone must accept it.’ That’s not helpful,” he stated.

Japaridze said that the opposition should not rule out any method of struggle, as this would only weaken the government.

“If you ask me, boycotting is much more comfortable than entering this fight. Joining the fight means stepping out of your comfort zone and confronting the government. But history shows us that even an unequal fight is better than surrender,” said Japaridze.

According to him, the government’s goal is to eliminate political opponents from the battlefield, which is why it arrests them.

“The arrests of Nika Gvaramia, Nika Melia, and Zurab Japaridze — and we don’t know who they’ll arrest next — serve only one purpose: to make you give up. To make you say, ‘There’s no point in fighting.’ Ivanishvili’s game is to erase us from the political field. Politics has been in the streets for six months now. Unfortunately, a portion of the population cannot join the street protests — should we deny them the chance to express their protest? Maybe they want to express it at the ballot box, no matter how unfair the conditions may be,” Japaridze said.

In his view, the arrests of opposition leaders stem from Georgian Dream’s fear.

“This is not how a confident government behaves — one that feels secure and simply wants to formalize its power. No, this is a shaky, frightened government that is thinking not about running against pro-Western, national political parties in elections, but about abolishing them altogether. And if someone is planning to abolish you, you shouldn’t help them do it. If you respond with passivity, you’re enabling your own abolition. That only helps Bidzina use these municipal elections for his own benefit,” Japaridze concluded.