Elene Khoshtaria, leader of the Droa! party in Georgia, had been invited to address the Congress last week, but instead she was sat in a prison cell for standing up against the authoritarian Georgian Dream party.
In her absence, an empty chair was left at the Congress to symbolise ALDE Party’s support for Georgia’s fight for democracy and the protection of political freedoms. Instead of delivering her speech from the stage, we publish her intervention in full below.
Additionally during the Congress, delegates adopted an urgency resolution denouncing the October 2025 sham elections and Georgian Dream’s authoritarian consolidation.
The resolution calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners and the organisation of free and fair parliamentary elections conducted without any form of intimidation. It urges support for independent media and civil society, as well as protections against the regime's propaganda and disinformation campaigns.
With this resolution, ALDE Party sends a clear message: the Georgian Dream regime must be held accountable, and the Georgian people have our full support in their struggle for democracy, justice, and fundamental rights
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Below is the speech that Elene Khoshtaria would have delivered to the Congress:
"This is the first time that I have the opportunity to make my voice heard and address you, the family so valuable to our party and, most importantly, to our country. Joining the ALDE family is a new stage of development for the party DROA. We appreciate the impact of every word you say and every action you take. In Georgia we say: “Friends are known in hardship,” and you have proven to be our true friends. At the same time, let me emphasize how great is a responsibility to be a member of ALDE. We firmly stand on the guard of all the fundamental values that have united us here. We do not intend to be just consumers; our desire and responsibility is to face those common challenges that ALDE faces together with you. And yes, the challenges that the civilized world faces today are abundant.
Together with you, we will try to turn these challenges into opportunities and a new phase of development for Europe. We see that completely new horizons are opening in our region: horizons of peace and development, as well as horizons of the geopolitical viewpoint. A free Georgia will play an important role in these processes. Accordingly, the defeat of Russia, along with our internal freedom in Georgia, will open inherently new prospects of partnership between the East and the West.
Now, even as I am addressing you from prison, I feel privileged for being a part of the generation of politicians who can contribute to the bringing forth of a new stage in European development. In the late 80s, the velvet revolutions brought the collapse of the Evil Empire. However, today it is clearly evident that the Evil Empire has only merely lulled the Cold War to sleep. The failure to establish a security system in the region, the maintenance of the “gray zones” and the illusion that Russia would become part of the civilized world have cost us dearly. Now we see that the failure to deter Russia has brought war to Europe. Therefore, we must all learn this lesson together. It is with this understanding that the European Union flags are waving alongside the Georgian ones in the heart of the protest against the Russian regime, in the streets of Tbilisi.
The crisis we are in has several dimensions:
1) Geopolitical - Russia’s hybrid war to reclaim Georgia;
- ·Russia’s strategic interest is to divide the West, create hotbeds of confrontation, provoke crises, and make us refuse to show solidarity to each other. Neither in Georgia nor elsewhere, Russia is trying create the positive image or establish partnerships; its goal is to sow fear and nihilism regarding Western integration. Russia is trying to convince Georgian citizens that Georgia’s accession to the EU and NATO is an unattainable task, and instead of dreaming about the West, it is better to live by the rules of the evil but powerful Kremlin.
- Ivanishvili’s Russian regime is a weapon of the Kremlin’s hybrid war against Georgia as well as Europe. It has taken years to understand, both in Georgia and among our international partners, that Ivanishvili’s Russian regime is not simply a criminal gang obsessed with maintaining power, but an instrument of Russia’s hybrid operation against the EU enlargement and the establishment of democracy and prosperity in the Black Sea region.
- We are well aware, that the West is the only guarantor of long-term peace, stability and prosperity. We know that without joining the European Union and NATO, it is impossible to achieve Georgia’s security, safety and the well-being of our citizens is impossible. The West is consolidating its forces in the wider Black Sea region. Examples of this are: Moldova, which, in the recent elections, has once again defeated the Kremlin; the growing role of the United States in ensuring peace in the South Caucasus; Armenia’s rapid aspiration toward European integration and the peace agreement with Azerbaijan; and Ukraine, which heroically deters the full-scale Russian aggression, thereby protecting not just its own freedom, but also the countries of the region and common European security.
- Georgia is a unique country in the context of the East-West strategic connection. This is the main key to the prosperity, safety and security, as well as technological development of our country. Due to Ivanishvili's regime, Western interest and investment have been completely driven away. Georgia is becoming a backyard for Russia and China and is losing its role as a strategic link.
2) The erosion of democracy, in a completely new oligarchic-autocratic form;
- The regime, which has usurped every single state institution, has formally seized power through rigged elections. We are dealing with a modern authoritarianism, the analogy of which is very difficult to find in the world. The regime has transformed from the competitive to the classical, Russian authoritarianism in mere months and weeks. Thus, neither in Georgia, nor perhaps, anywhere else, does there exist a ready-made recipe for fighting it, and clearly, Ivanishvili’s regime takes advantage of the situation.
- The oligarchic system that operates in Georgia has both formal and informal foundations. The regime is based on three pillars:
o Propaganda
o Money
o Violent police force
The regime’s propaganda is overwhelming. It possesses the mainstream TV media, radio, print and social media, and employs a network of people across the country whose job it is to spread the Regime’s narratives, penetrating and occupying people’s brains and thoughts. Ivanishvili is a Russian oligarch, and Georgia is a poor country. For years, Ivanishvili has been buying trust of Georgian citizens with his Russian money. At this stage, the Regime has a huge illicit black cashflow, filled from the re-export of sanctioned products to Russia, racketeering of local businesses, illegal international schemes, including money laundering and misappropriation of the state budget funds. Through this money, Ivanishvili sustains the vertical of his power. In addition to these informal instruments, the oligarch maintains a rigid police force under his authority, namely the “Special Forces” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as informal criminal units, which the Regime uses to physically punish undesirable people and disperse peaceful protests.
3) Humanitarian - Brutal violence and repressions against citizens
- ·More than 400 young people became victims of systematic torture in special police vehicles during the protest rallies in November and December of the last year. Hundreds of detained women were subjected to degrading treatment in temporary detention centers. Per capita, Georgia now has more political prisoners than Russia. Political leaders, cultural figures, civil activists, and journalists are in political captivity.
- The regime continues to adopt extremely harsh, dictatorial legislation. In addition to enforcing the laws against NGOs and free media, the regime has essentially banned the protests. Even just standing on the sidewalk or wearing a medical mask during a demonstration can result in up to 15 days of administrative detention, and then in up to a year of imprisonment under the Criminal Code.
However, Georgia’s background is different from that of Belarus nor Russia. Despite all attempts, including war propaganda, and bribery, for 30 years, more than 80% of the population has unwaveringly supported Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic future. We are in the majority, whilst the Regime is in the minority.
Drawing on our steadfast belief and a clear recognition of our weaknesses, we have defined the path for our struggle:
1. Non-cooperation with the Regime and its complete isolation;
2. Non-violent, continuous, fierce and large-scale nationwide popular resistance;
3. International isolation of the Regime and targeted sanctions.
Unlike Lukashenko, the Ivanishvili regime is vulnerable to international sanctions. Ivanishvili has dismissed or demoted 78% of the sanctioned officials. He and his criminal gang keep their assets and money mostly in the Western countries. Obviously, they fear effective international sanctions. However, at this stage, speed is essential. We need sanctions before the authoritarian regime is finally consolidated into a Russian dictatorship, where the effect of the international leverage may dramatically decrease. On October 26, a year after the hijacked elections, thousands of Georgians will gather again in the center of Tbilisi, with one aim: to tell Ivanishvili’s regime, each other, and you, the friends of our country, once again, that we are not going to give in. Georgian society is not going to accept Russian, Soviet occupation in the 21st century. We will fight to the end, until the victory, and on this road, we hope for your timely support."
- Elene Khoshtaria, Leader of the DROA!