Strong Georgia - Lelo responds to the Speaker of Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, with a statement.

As noted in the statement, Strong Georgia - Lelo has made an official statement regarding Aleko Elisashvili’s actions and Shalva Papuashvili can be guided by that position.

The coalition once again clarifies that Aleko Elisashvili is not a member of Lelo and that the Citizens party is not a member of ALDE.

Strong Georgia-Lelo expects Shalva Papuashvili to distance himself from the “facts of torture committed” by the Georgian Dream, which were manifested in the “severe and organized beatings” of more than 300 activists and the alleged use of chemical weapons against them. The coalition also states that he must distance himself from the creation of “Arab enclaves” in Georgia and the fact of damaging the interests of the state, and to distance himself from “criminals and corrupt officials among the members of his own team.”

“The Chairman of the Parliament of the Dream, suspected of the alleged use of banned chemical weapons against its own citizens, has been making statements against the Strong Georgia-Lelo coalition for several days now regarding the expulsion of Aleko Elisashvili from the political team.

The leaders of Strong Georgia-Lelo and the Citizens party have repeatedly stated that Aleko Elisashvili is not a member of the Strong Georgia-Lelo party, therefore, we cannot exclude him from anywhere. Aleko Elisashvili represents his own party - Citizens, which he founded and his party is not a member of ALDE.

As for the coalition, it was created for the pre-election period and we have repeatedly stated this. Strong Georgia-Lelo and the Citizens party continue this coalition partnership to this day.

Strong Georgia-Lelo has made an official statement regarding Aleko Elisashvili’s actions, and Shalva Papuashvili can be guided by that position. Aleko Elisashvili himself noted in court that this was his personal protest. Nevertheless, the Georgian Dream is trying to politically instrumentalize the issue, fabricate another absurd accusation and link this absurdity to the Strong Georgia-Lelo and its leaders.

At the same time, we and the Georgian society expect Shalva Papuashvili to distance himself from the facts of torture committed by the Georgian Dream government, which was manifested in the brutal and organized beating of more than 300 activists and the alleged use of chemical weapons against them, which has already been assessed as a “terrorist act against its own citizens”. He must also distance himself from the fact of creating “Arab enclaves” in Georgia and damaging the interests of the state, distance himself from criminals and corrupt officials among the members of his own team and all other violations of the law committed by the Dream regime”, reads the statement.

The Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, stated that if Aleko Elisashvili is not expelled, starting Monday, Citizens, Strong Georgia, and Alde will "officially become terrorist sponsoring organizations."