Opposition undecided what to do after ruling party pulls out of EU-mediated agreement
The opposition parties say that through leaving the EU-medited agreement the ruling party betrayed the country’s western course. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Opposition parties are undecided what to do after the ruling Georgian Dream party left the EU-mediated agreement yesterday - a document signed by the majority of Georgian political parties back in April 2021 which resolved a six-month political crisis.
The opposition is unanimous in its statements that the ruling party ‘acted in a very irresponsible way and betrayed the country’s western course.’ However, they believe that ‘hasty decisions made by the opposition ‘may further damage the state interests.’
It may be a logical step by opposition MPs to give up their mandates. However, the decision has its minuses and we must act reasonably and wait for the country’s international partners,” independent MP Salome Samadashvili said.
Without a strong and clear American message and policy actions, GD will destroy this country's future. When the power is all that matters, values become sidelined. We are witnessing this vividly. @SenatorRisch https://t.co/4uVlS7Dm28
— Sergi Kapanadze (@sergikap) July 28, 2021
She admitted that the UNM’s refusal to sign the EU-mediated agreement ‘gave a reason to the ruling party’ to leave the agreement.
Opposition MP from Citizens party Aleko Elisashvili also accused the UNM of ‘undeliberately supporting the ruling party’, but said that ‘what the ruling party did was absolutely unimaginable and alarming.’
Elisashvili says that boycotting the parliament will ‘no way benefit’ the opposition.
Georgia's Former PM tweeted:
GD withdrawal from Apr 19 deal is a step towards polarization & setback on the path towards democracy. Responsibility lies primarily with the GD leadership; however, UNM, who by refraining from joining the agreement allowed GD to relinquish its commitments, is also responsible.
— Giorgi Kvirikashvili (@KvirikashviliGi) July 28, 2021
The Lelo opposition party says that the opposition must well-prepare for the October 2 municipal elections to defeat the ruling party.
The ruling party says that the refusal of the main opposition party, the UNM, and other opposition parties (in total three of eight opposition parties) forced them to leave the agreement.
They say that the country’s European course ‘is in no way at risk’ and that the electoral, judiciary and other reforms proposed by the EU-mediated agreement will be implemented.
Georgian Dream political council statement on April 19 Agreement https://t.co/5BqZjth7Ec
— Georgian Dream (@GeorgianDream41) July 28, 2021
Ruling party MP Gia Volski says that ‘if the UNM signs the EU-mediated agreement now, it will be the culmination of their falsehood.’
The EU-mediated agreement proposed by European Council President Charles Michel resolved a six-month political crisis in Georgia which began after the 2020 parliamentary elections.
One of the notes of the agreement said that repeat parliamentary elections must be held in the country if the ruling party were to receive less than 43 per cent of total votes in the upcoming municipal elections.
After the withdrawal from the agreement, the ruling party says they may or may not accept repeat parliamentary elections.
Georgian civil society organisations say the recent decision of the ruling Georgian Dream party to back out of the April 19 EU-mediated agreement ‘constitutes a straightforward rejection of Georgia's Euro-Atlantic course and the peaceful development of the country through democratic reforms’.
Leader of opposition party Girchi - More Freedom Zurab Japaridze has left parliament after the ruling Georgian Dream party’s withdrawal from the EU-mediated agreement early today, stating that the agreement was his reason for being in parliament. Japaridze claimed the ruling party decided to leave the agreement because it has ‘zero chance of receiving 43% of the vote in upcoming elections’ – a condition provided for in the EU-mediated agreement, which if not met would see repeat parliamentary elections in Georgia.
The Lelo opposition party has stated that they may boycott the October 2 municipal elections, while several opposition leaders have urged opposition MPs to give up their mandates as the ruling Georgian Dream party has left the April 19 EU-mediated agreement.
The ruling Georgian Dream party has annulled its signatory status to the April 19 EU-mediated agreement which resolved a six-month political crisis in the country following the 2020 parliamentary elections and proposed large-scale electoral and judiciary reforms.Head of the ruling Georgian Dream party Irakli Kobakhidze stated earlier today that the agreement initiated by the European Council President Charles Michel ‘had completed its mission’ and accused opposition parties of non-fulfilment of the agreement.
Three leading members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Marina Kaljurand, Sven Mikser and Viola von Cramon-Taubadel are ‘surprised and disappointed by the unexpected decision’ of the ruling Georgian Dream party to withdraw unilaterally from the April 19 agreement brokered by European Council President Charles Michel.
The international community has criticised the ruling Georgian Dream party’s exit from the EU-mediated agreement which put an end to a six-month political standoff caused by parliamentary elections of 2020. Seven US senators have published a joint statement on the breakdown of the Georgian EU-mediated agreement which says that ‘recent developments in Georgia undermine the reform efforts agreed to in the April 19 agreement.’
The US Embassy in Georgia has responded to the ruling party’s exit from the EU-mediated agreement and stated that ‘Washington is growing increasingly alarmed about repeated setbacks to Georgia’s democratic future.’ The ruling Georgian Dream party announced yesterday that the agreement initiated by the European Council President Charles Michel ‘completed its mission’ and left the agreement.