CoE welcomes ruling party, opposition election agreement in Georgia
Georgian PM met with CoE officials in Tbilisi earlier today. Photo: government of Georgia press office.
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The delegation of the Council of Europe (CoE), which met with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia earlier today, has welcomed the recent agreement between the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and the opposition on how to hold the 2020 parliamentary elections, the government of Georgia press office reports.
Gakharia met with co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Georgia, Titus Corlatean, a member of the Monitoring Committee of PACE and a deputy head of PACE Secretariat Bass Klein, and Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia Cristian Urse.
During the meeting at the administration building of the government of Georgia in Tbilisi, Gakharia and the delegation members also discussed current political and election-related issues.
A bill has been registered in parliament per the agreement of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and the opposition on March 8.
The ruling Georgian Dream party says that it is fulfilling all the conditions of the election agreement made with the opposition last week with the mediation of the diplomatic corps, responding to allegations of the opposition regarding the release of imprisoned opposition leaders and members.
The US Department of State has welcomed an agreement between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition on how to hold the 2020 parliamentary elections, stating that is a ‘crucial step towards depolarisation and normalisation of the political environment in Georgia,’ in the run-up to the race.
US Senators Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,and Jeanne Shaheen,a ranking member of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, have welcomed a recent agreement between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition on how to hold the 2020 parliamentary elections, stating that making the deal will benefit the democratic development of the country.
Co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for the monitoring of Georgia, Titus Corlatean and Claude Kern, have stated that the March 8 election agreement between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition ‘offers a window of opportunity for Georgia’s democratic consolidation.’
The Georgian parliament will renew the election system-related discussions as soon as the state of emergency has ended, Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze stated earlier today.
Voters at the upcoming parliamentary elections in October will be required to observe two-meter social distancing regulations, and all individuals entering polling stations will be thermo screened, Georgian Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze told IPN news agency today.
The US Department of State and the co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Georgia, have welcomed the ‘historic adoption’ of constitutional amendments by the Georgian parliament earlier today.
Germany will send 37 observers for Georgia’s October 31 parliamentary elections in the coming days, while the rest will visit the country by the end of September, German Ambassador to Georgia Hubert Knirsch said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on September 17.