The Georgian Dream releases a statement regarding the new document proposed by Charles Michel for the parties.

„As the first phase of the negotiations, held with the mediation of President Michel’s Special Representative, ended without results, the “Georgian Dream” took a responsible step and publicly signed the document, created under the auspices of the European Union, which set out the conditions of agreement between the governing party and the opposition. The opposition did not sign the document presented by the European Union.

Taking into account that today our country faces serious challenges precipitated by the pandemic and the geopolitical situation in the region, we are aware of the responsibility before our compatriots, our country, and the international community.

The “Georgian Dream” is a decision-making force that fairly received the highest support in the democratic elections. This is precisely why we are paying close attention to our partners’ advice and suggestions to reach an agreement and we are ready to start a discussion with the team about increasing the 40% indicator of confidence, which was determined by the Constitution and electoral legislation, with the support of the same opposition, in compliance with the March 8 Agreement.

We would also like to express our position regarding G. Rurua – he is neither a politician nor a key figure in any possible breakthrough in the political process. The inclusion of the issue of his release in the agreement between the parties is an example of gross political interference in justice. Taking into account the existing reality and the attitude of our partners, we will not express our critical position if the President of Georgia grants him clemency.

We are taking these steps together with our international partners, the European Union, and President Michel, whom we thank for the steps and efforts aimed at the improvement of the political situation, with the condition that it will once again be clearly stated that the 2020 parliamentary elections were conducted in accordance with the principles of fair and democratic elections, as reflected in the final report of the OSCE/ODIHR international observation mission and for the purpose of which European structures will be involved in the commission that was set up for the assessment of the 2020 parliamentary elections. Also, our decision about the prisoners, whose release is demanded by the opposition, is based on the necessary condition that political interference in any criminal case will be ruled out in the future.

There are two other ongoing cases – the so-called Khazaradze-Japaridze and N. Gvaramia cases – where in the first case, the persons who were under investigation and who are subjects of legal proceedings created a political party after the investigation and took refuge in their political status, while in the second case, the person, who is also a subject of legal proceedings (he was the deputy general prosecutor under the previous government) created a television station and is attempting to acquire immunity through journalistic activities. These cases should be assessed with the involvement of international legal experts, in order to rule out the possibility of political decisions in the given cases and to assess them solely in line with legal standards. We believe that this rules out all subjective perceptions among the public about whether or not these cases are politically motivated.

We believe that during these years, the Georgian judiciary, courts, and the Prosecutor’s Office – which have undergone significant reforms and qualitative improvement – have been subjected to biased and motivated attacks from the opposition and their affiliate media with the aim of discrediting these institutions. Georgian courts and judiciary have improved significantly in terms of independence and fairness, as evidenced by international ratings from the World Bank and the Heritage Foundation, which rank Georgia’s judiciary system in Europe’s top 20, ahead of several EU member states, while according to the survey by IPSOS France, trust in the judiciary is above 50% among the Georgian public, which is close to the level of developed EU states. Naturally, the principle of 2/3 provided in the agreement document must be clarified and written out in accordance with European practice, so as to avoid political interference in the process and to prevent it from being blocked.

Taking into account that we signed the first document that was presented by the European Union and are committed to discuss the updated document as well, we will not make any more adjustments to the conditions and we will not agree to any substantial additions after signing the updated document. With this, negotiations on the terms are over on our part and we call on the opposition to take responsible steps”, - reads the statement of the ruling party.