Mikheil Saakashvili, the third president of Georgia, stated during a court hearing that opposition parties operating as business projects of corporate groups, such as the “Lelo – Strong Georgia” party, cannot win, because “Lelo”, in his words, is a business project of Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze.
Saakashvili also turned his attention to Nika Gvaramia’s “Akhali” party, which, as he noted, “no matter how much we turn a blind eye to it, was initially created as a project of the Gilauri brothers.”
According to the former president, there are also “several smaller business projects distributed across various categories.”
“How can an opposition win when a significant part of it tries to assert itself at the expense of my personality, and some of whose representatives do not hesitate to do business even with the dictator’s henchmen? Or how can opposition parties win when they are business projects of corporate groups?
With all due respect, ‘Lelo’ is a business project of Badri and Mamuka. ‘Akhali’, no matter how much we turn a blind eye to it, was initially created as a project of the Gilauri brothers—not to win, but to siphon off voters from me and the United National Movement.
The goal was achieved: after the Gilauris carried out the instructions of their ‘master,’ they simultaneously cut off funding, and I can see that ‘Akhali’ has now stalled.
In addition to this, there are several other smaller business projects distributed across various categories,” Saakashvili stated.
The politician believes that the Georgian opposition does not yet meet the criteria for victory.
“How can you defeat a dictatorship when parties boast that the dictatorship credited them with a higher percentage than the ‘competing opposition’ in rigged elections?” he stated.
Saakashvili also addressed his, as he put it, former friend Nika Gvaramia regarding the attempted storming of the Presidential Palace on October 4, 2025, the day of local government elections in Georgia, emphasizing that he shares his position.
According to him, “October 4 was not a day of a lapse of reason. It was a struggle of 200,000 people with burning hearts alongside the organizers of the rally.”
Saakashvili stated that Georgia is under a dictatorship, and to end it, “only internal fervor” is needed.
“We cannot sufficiently ignite this fervor, and I want to ask the courtroom: are you satisfied with this boiling point, with this situation? — probably not,” the former president concluded.