Aleko Elisashvili, one of the leaders of “Lelo – Strong Georgia,” stated that the opposition’s boycott of the local self-government elections was a Russian special operation.

Speaking on PalitraNews’ program “360 Degrees,” Elisashvili said that the opposition failed to convince voters and made a series of strategic mistakes.

According to him, the idea of boycotting the elections was deliberately “planted.”

“The entire period we went through requires proper analysis. Mistakes need to be acknowledged. Our mistake was that we failed to convince people to come to the local elections. Of course, there were many other mistakes as well. It was a missed opportunity — we could have easily won in Tbilisi if no one had been ‘planted’ or overly agitated. In reality, the election boycott was a deliberately planted Russian special operation.

It was a mistake not to go to the elections. It was a mistake to announce a revolution two months in advance. Putting everything aside, planning a revolution not for October 4 but for the 6th… an adventure should be called an adventure. All of this was very well thought out and planned — a well-executed adventure. This was exactly a Russian special operation: ‘Do not go to the elections, and come to Rustaveli,’” Elisashvili said.

Elisashvili also spoke more broadly about the ongoing protest on Rustaveli Avenue, saying that the street protests, which have lasted for a year, demonstrate citizens’ resilience and determination.

He noted that, despite public fatigue, resistance will continue, and he expects large-scale mobilization on November 28.

“The protest on the streets has been going on for a year. For a year, we’ve seen persistence, stubbornness, resilience, unprecedented resistance, and examples of civic heroism. The resistance continues. It is a resistance that the completely compromised government has been unable to stop. Of course, people are tired, but November 28 will come, and many people will turn out. I believe this process will not stop, and we will definitely defeat them. There are simply some things to sort out and lessons to draw,” Elisashvili said.

When asked about the strategy for continuing the fight, Elisashvili responded that he respects street protests but believes political processes should take place within political institutions.

“Political processes should take place within political institutions — whether it’s the Parliament, city council, or elsewhere. We are not in Parliament; we gave up our mandates, and we withdrew our lists.

I bow to everyone. I have consciously not been going to Rustaveli recently to avoid arguing with overly agitated people and damaging the cause. I have great respect for everyone, all the civic heroes who go to Rustaveli and protest. In any country, political processes should take place within political institutions,” Elisashvili said.

Additionally, Elisashvili spoke about the constitutional lawsuit filed by the ruling party, “Georgian Dream.” He believes the party is trying to create division within the opposition and does not rule out the possibility that “Lelo – Strong Georgia” might be prohibited.

“Our coalition was included on the list of banned parties. A commission investigated the crimes of the ‘United National Movement,’ and I was listed. They have a scheme — they ban Gvaramia’s party and the United National Movement but will not ban us. Then the rest will jump out and start insulting us again. They want to deepen the confrontation even further. The United National Movement and Gvaramia’s supporters will line up and start attacking us,” Elisashvili said.