In a letter from prison shared on Facebook, Badri Japaridze, a leader of the Lelo–Strong Georgia movement, claims the ruling Georgian Dream party’s ideal scenario is to hold the October 4 municipal elections without real opposition.
“They want no national, pro-Western political force in the race, so they can fully consolidate local power and sideline key political players,” Japaridze writes. “That’s why we decided to enter the fight — to stop this from happening.”
He says the government is using arrests and investigations to block their participation: “We’re in prison to prevent us from making that decision. That’s also why a case is being opened against Giorgi Gakharia.”
Japaridze vows that Georgian Dream will not be allowed to “comfortably” run the elections unchallenged.
In recent weeks, several key opposition leaders in Georgia have been jailed, including Badri Japaridze, Mamuka Khazaradze, Zurab Japaridze, and Giorgi Vashadze, all sentenced to around 7–8 months in prison and banned from holding office. The arrests stem from their refusal to testify before a parliamentary commission seen by critics as politically motivated. Others, like Nika Melia and Irakli Okruashvili, are in pre-trial detention, prompting widespread concern over democratic backsliding and political repression in the country.
