According to Aleko Elisashvili, one of the leaders of “Lelo for a Strong Georgia,” he is ready to fight for the position of Tbilisi mayor if a political decision is made to nominate him.

During an appearance on PalitraNews’ program “Day’s Newsroom,” Elisashvili confirmed that his candidacy is being considered for the capital’s mayoral position alongside other candidates.

“It won’t be an easy fight. We are entering a highly unequal battle. Yes, we are entering an electoral fight. As for me, if such a decision [to nominate me as a candidate for Tbilisi mayor] is made, I am ready! I won’t hold back anywhere! I would be a thousand times better mayor than Kakha Kaladze!” Elisashvili stated.

Regarding the stance of members of Gakharia’s party, who said, “Aleko is a good guy, but an agreement should be made on a neutral candidate,” Elisashvili said he is not trying to convince the former prime minister’s teammates and, moreover, supports the idea of nominating a politically neutral candidate for Tbilisi.

“I have no political or positional ambitions. Whoever the mayoral candidate is, I will sit with them for hours and, together with qualified people, explain that it’s possible to eliminate traffic jams in Tbilisi within a year.

My candidacy is being considered, but other candidates are also being considered. If there is a stronger, more determined candidate, I will unequivocally support them. In return for this support, I am not interested in any position,” Elisashvili stated.

Regarding the decision to nominate Kakha Kaladze for a third term as Tbilisi mayor, Elisashvili’s assessment is that “the capital has never had such a corrupt and bribe-taking leader as Kaladze.” According to him, he is confident that in the third round of voting, everyone will collectively “slap” Kaladze because “this man’s fraud is simply unbearable.”

“I know something about Tbilisi’s history. I can say unequivocally that Tbilisi has never had such a corrupt, bribe-taking mayor. Of course, he sees Tbilisi as a city of opportunities.

He has to deliver 800 million dollars to Bidzina Ivanishvili. Imagine the scheme these corrupt people have created: Kaladze robs Tbilisi, and then Bidzina Ivanishvili tells him to bring the stolen money to him. A city of opportunities, indeed! Tbilisi has never had such a fraudulent, deceitful, bribe-taking, and corrupt leader—he has devoured and ravaged the city.

For eight years, the Guramishvili metro station has been under rehabilitation—is that metro looking peaceful now?! Hiroshima and Nagasaki looked better after the Americans bombed them. During the rain, buckets are placed in the metro vestibule. At the Varketili metro, first, they installed a suspended ceiling for no reason, then that ceiling collapsed, and now, just before the elections, they remembered it and closed it for 45 days. At the Station Square, a ‘parapet’ fell, injuring passersby, killing one, and this disgraceful man came out and blamed the people.

How could someone manage, during two terms as mayor, to steal 800 million?! They steal money from every project—from Samgori metro to a surface metro through Lilo to Rustavi. Eight stations were supposed to be built, and the project was supposed to be operational by 2021. Nothing has been done—not a single nail has been driven—but in this scam, where nothing was done, Kaladze stole 12 million.

I reviewed the tenders, projects, and permits, and from all this, I calculated 600 million GEL, but it turns out he has to deliver 800 million! ‘Georgian Dream’ is mired in corruption, and there is no fight against corruption—Bidzina Ivanishvili ran out of money because the Americans seized his funds, and now he has to recover it from those who were the most corrupt and stole the most around him. We are witnessing this trend.

If we want to fight corruption, we must remove these corrupt scoundrels from power,” Elisashvili stated.