US Ambassador on UNM signing EU-mediated agreement: it’s a good sign for strengthening Georgia’s path forward
Ambassador Degnan underlined that the agreement is ‘the roadmap of the reforms that Georgia needs to make’ which ‘will make a difference in the lives of every Georgian.’ Photo: US Embassy in Georgia.
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US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan has welcomed the largest opposition United National Movement (UNM) party’s decision to sign the EU-mediated agreement and stated that ‘it is a good sign for strengthening Georgia’s path forward.’
We have been encouraging the UNM to sign the agreement for quite some time, so it is a good sign because this (April 19 agreement) represents a roadmap of the important reforms that the country is to make,” Ambassador Degnan stated.
Signature of the Agreement "A way forward for Georgia" of 19 April by the Chair of UNM Nika Melia, on behalf of the UNM party, by faction leader Khatia Dekanoidze and by individual UNM MPs.
— EU Delegation Georgia ???????? (@EUinGeorgia) September 2, 2021
More photos: https://t.co/qGhByUOn5y pic.twitter.com/oFlMrefUjz
The UNM opposition party has signed the April 19, EU-mediated agreement proposed by European Council President Charles Michel today after months of refusal to join it which resolved the political crisis in the country caused by the parliamentary elections 2020 and put forward fundamental electoral and judiciary reforms.
The UNM’s decision follows the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party’s withdrawal from the agreement in late July due to the largest opposition party’s refusal to sign the document.
Ambassador Degnan underlined that the agreement is ‘the roadmap of the reforms that Georgia needs to make’ which ‘will make a difference in the lives of every Georgian.’
These are the kinds of reforms that are going to allow for a stronger economy, for a better electoral process, these are the reforms that touch the lives of every Georgian and so it is a very good sign that UNM has decided to sign on,” Ambassador Degnan noted.
However, the GD stated that UNM’s signature on the document ‘makes no sense as the agreement does not exist.’
The United National Movement (UNM), the largest opposition party in Georgia, has decided to join the April 2021 EU-mediated agreement after more than four months of refusing to do so.The UNM’s decision comes on the heels of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party’s withdrawal from the agreement at the end of July ‘because the main opposition, the UNM, refused to join the agreement,while other opposition parties were constantly violating it.’
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’.
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.
The United National Movement (UNM) opposition party MPs attended their first session in the 10th convocation of the state legislature earlier today after a six-month political standoff.
An American Cultural Center (ACC) has opened in Tbilisi earlier today. US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan attended the opening ceremony at which she stated that ‘this is a fantastic new initiative’ for a strong partnership between the two countries. The ACC will focus on the arts, culture and education-related projects and will ‘promote cultural links between the US and Georgia.’
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated that the decision of the largest opposition party, the United National Movement (UNM), to sign the April 2021 EU-mediated agreement after more than four months since the document was signed by other parties ‘is a farce and lie.’ He said that the ruling party had waited for the UNM to join the agreement for 100 days and other opposition parties to fulfil the stipulations of the document which offered large-scale electoral and judiciary reforms.
US Senator Jim Risch and Congressmen Adam Kinzinger and Gerry Connolly have welcomed the decision of Georgia's largest opposition party, the United National Movement (UNM), to sign the April 2021 EU-mediated agreement after several months of refusing to do so. However, Risch was cited by Voice of America as saying that the UNM’s decision is ‘at least belated’ and that the party’s more than four-month hesitation encouraged the ruling Georgia Dream (GD) to withdraw from the agreement in July of this year.
Head of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, MP Irakli Kobakhidze has reminded the parliamentary opposition that constitutional amendments related to electoral and other issues are a result of the party’s goodwill as the GD has withdrawn from the EU-mediated agreement.The agreement signed by the ruling party and the majority of opposition parties on April 19, 2021 obliged the signatories to carry out large-scale electoral and judiciary reforms.
Head of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party Irakli Kobakhidze has responded to the criticism of the EU and US embassies on the removal of a stipulation from constitutional amendments on the election rule of Georgia's prosecutor general. Kobakhidze stated that the stipulation was ‘legal nonsense,’ noting that the US and EU ambassadors ‘are likely not to have had’ proper and correct consultations around the issue.
European Council President Charles Michel has commended all Georgian citizens who participated in local municipal elections on October 2 and called on the country to focus on ‘in-depth structural reforms.’ “Essential that the country's focus now return to in-depth structural reforms, as set out in the 19 April Agreement, notably in the rule of law and judicial spheres,” Charles Michel stated.
Head of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, Irakli Kobakhidze, says that the party ‘has no obligation’ to support the constitutional amendments which offer a lower election threshold for the next two parliamentary elections.