Opposition holds rally at parliament, protesting possible re-election of former prosecutor general
The opposition says that Irakli Shotadze is backed by the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili. Photo: IPN.
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Members of opposition parties and their supporters are now holding a rally at parliament building in central Tbilisi, protesting Irakli Shotadze’s possible re-election as prosecutor general.
The opposition says that Shotadze, who resigned in 2018, is “Ivanishvili’s choice” [founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party] and the ruling party MPs will ‘vote for his anyway’ later today.
Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze has stated that “protests are part of democracy” and everyone in the country has the right to express their views.
As for the issue of the prosecutor general, despite my respect for the opposition, we have a responsibility before the state and public. The opposition may like or dislike a candidate. The final decision is up to parliament,” Talakvadze said.
Shotadze’s candidacy was approved by Parliament's Legal Issues Committee yesterday.
Shotadze says that he makes decisions independently. Photo: reginfo.
Later today a final vote will take place in parliament during a plenary session.
If at least 76 MPs of a total of 150 vote for Shotadze, he will become the country’s first prosecutor general elected by parliament twice.
Shotadze, who was the first Georgian prosecutor general elected by parliament in 2015, was nominated for the post by a legal entity, the Georgian Technical University.
The post became vacant after former Chief Prosecutor Shalva Tadumadze was approved as lifetime judge of the Georgian Supreme Court in December 2019.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, which has more than 90 MPs in parliament, vows support for Shotadze.
The opposition and the civil sector strongly oppose Shotadze’s reelection.
The atmosphere around the Georgian parliament building earlier today was tense after civic activists were refused by police to enter the legislative body and attend the hearing of former Prosecutor General Irakli Shotadze, who has been nominated for the post again, at Parliament's Legal Issues’ Committee later today. Civic activists say that Shotadze does not deserve the post and his re-proposal was the “personal decision” of the founder of the Georgian Dream ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Former Georgian Prosecutor General Irakli Shotadze, who resigned in 2018, might take the post again as he is among the four candidates who were advanced through the selection process by the Prosecutorial Council earlier today.
Ruling party MPs Mamuka Mdinaradze and Giorgi Volski have promised to vote again for Irakli Shotadze, “a professional and a worthy man,” if he is selected as the country’s prosecutor general by the Prosecutorial Council in the coming months. Zaza Saralidze, father of deceased minor David Saralidze, whose son’s case became the reason for Shotadze’s resignation, says that Shotadze’s “return to the battlefield will be dignified.”
Former Georgian Prosecutor General Irakli Shotadze, who resigned in 2018, has been registered to run for the post again after former Chief Prosecutor Shalva Tadumadze was approved as a lifetime judge of the Georgian Supreme Court in December 2019.
Georgian parliament has approved Irakli Shotadze as the country's prosecutor general for the second time amid a boycott of the parliamentary opposition and several independent MPs.
The Georgian Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze has stated that 15,625 individuals were charged in 2020 by the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, while the figure stood at 19,114 in 2019.