Three candidates ‘resign’ from Lelo, party alleges SSG interference
Within a short span of time, three local candidates of the opposition Lelo — Strong Georgia group announced via Facebook that they were leaving the party as elections were being held, citing Lelo’s alleged support for violence and the forcible change of power as the reason.
In the afternoon, such posts were published by Dato Nadirashvili, who introduced himself as Lelo’s majoritarian MP candidate but did not specify in which district; Levan Revazishvili, who said he was a candidate from Lelo’s proportional list; and Domenti Korkia, who presented himself as a candidate for majoritarian MP from the village of Gezati in the western Abasha Municipality.
Korkia alleged that the party supported ‘the radical opposition’s calls regarding plans to forcibly change the government’, while Nadirashvili said it seemed Lelo ‘was placing more hope in unrest than in elections’. The latter’s post is no longer available.
Later, Salome Samadashvili, one of Lelo’s leaders, held a briefing on the issue, calling the process a ‘pre-planned and organised special operation by the State Security Service (SSG) against our political union’. She added that linking Lelo to violence was ‘absurd’.
‘Lelo has repeatedly and consistently stated that in this country the government will certainly change — but it will change precisely through elections’, she said.
In recent days, several other candidates have also left Lelo, including the mayoral candidate in Bolnisi, three majoritarian candidates in Marneuli, and, according to the party, one candidate in Zestaponi. The party attributed this process to state pressure, which Georgian Dream denied.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
Today’s posts were likely alluding to a demonstration planned outside parliament by some opposition figures boycotting the elections, which they branded a ‘peaceful revolution’ and a ‘peaceful overthrow’ of Georgian Dream’s government. Lelo has not actively promoted the protest or contributed to its organisation. The party’s Tbilisi mayoral candidate, Irakli Kupradze, urged voters to cast their ballots in the morning and join the rally in the evening.
Mikheil Gvadzabia
