US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan said earlier today that the EU-mediated agreement still provides a ‘very important framework for reforms’ while answering a question about the ruling party’s decision not to conduct snap parliamentary elections.
Head of the ruling Georgian Dream party Irakli Kobakhidze announced that ‘no elections will take place until the one scheduled in 2024’ following the ruling party’s decision to annul its signatory status in late July to the April 19 agreement which resolved the political crisis caused by parliamentary elections of 2020 and proposed fundamental judicial and electoral reforms.
Per the agreement, the Georgian Dream had to hold a snap election if it received less than 43 per cent of votes on the upcoming municipal elections in October.
Ambassador Degnan stated that the agreement was valuable because it was a multi-party document, underscoring that it provides a ‘useful roadmap for the kinds of reforms that Georgia needs to do in the coming months.’
I will say that the April 19th Agreement was negotiated over six months by Georgia’s political leaders. One of the reasons it took six months is to ensure that it was consistent, and it is consistent with Georgia’s constitution and its laws,” US Ambassador Degnan stated.
The opposition parties and NGOs assessed the ruling party’s withdrawal from the agreement as a deviation from the country’s Euro-Atlantic path.
Several opposition leaders such as the United National Movement (UNM) party’s leader Nika Melia and Girchi - More Freedom party’s leader Zurab Japaridze left the Georgian parliament soon after the ruling party’s decision to annul its signatory status of the agreement.
US Embassy in Georgia and various representatives of the international community expressed their disappointment for the Georgian government’s withdrawal from the agreement and called on all political parties to work together for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration.