EU mediator in talks between Georgian political parties already in Georgia
The EU mediator in the talks between the Georgian Dream ruling party and the opposition, Christian Danielsson, has held his first meeting with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili. Photo: Christian Danielsson’s Twitter page.
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The EU mediator in the talks between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition amid the current political tension in the country, Christian Danielsson, has arrived in Georgia earlier today.
He is now meeting with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili in capital Tbilisi.
Before the meeting Danielsson told journalists that he will have a ‘busy three days’ with Georgian political parties.
The Orbeliani Palace welcomes @DanielssonEU, Personal Envoy of @eucopresident in the EU-mediated political dialogue in Georgia. ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/2FAlXr5Ckv
— Orbeliani Presidential Palace (@OrbelianiPalace) March 12, 2021
The European Council President Charles Michel has mandated Danielsson to lead a EU-backed mediation effort in Georgia to help the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition come to an agreement on the issue of repeat parliamentary elections and the release of the head of the United National Movement opposition party Nika Melia.
The Georgian opposition parties which have won seats in the 10th convocation of the Georgian parliament have been demanding repeat elections since the October 31, 2020 race.
???????? ???? ???????? #Georgia & #EU are a great match! That's why we appointed @DanielssonEU to mediate the crisis. @Europarl_EN & I, a lead member for ???????? in #DEG, are also more than ready to walk the extra mile. Now, Walking is much more pleasant with these socks gifted by a kind Georgian. pic.twitter.com/T56BurlUk7
— Viola von Cramon (@ViolavonCramon) March 11, 2021
They have accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of falsifying the elections, refused to take up their mandates and took to the street in November 2020.
Foreign ambassadors have facilitated four rounds of talks since then between the ruling party and the opposition to help the parties end the tension. However, the talks ended without the result.
Opposition rallies resumed at the end of the last month, amid the coronavirus pandemic, after the arrest of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party head Nika Melia on February 23 for his refusal to pay bail.
Melia is charged with incitement to violence during the June protests in Tbilisi back in 2019.
Opposition parties are now demanding the release of Melia and the co-founder of the opposition-minded TV channel Mtavari Arkhi Giorgi Rurua and the repeat elections.
Georgian opposition parties say that they will again take to the street if no agreement is reached with the ruling party. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
The dialogue between the ruling party and the opposition resumed during the recent visit of the European Council President Michel to Georgia on March 1.
Following the visit Michel mandated Danielsson to mediate the talks in Georgia.
The opposition has announced the launch of a ‘large-scale disobedience campaign and rallies’ if no agreement on repeat parliamentary elections and the release of Melia and Rurua is made with the ruling party by the end of March.
The ruling party says that repeat elections will not take place because the elections ‘were held in the full line with democratic standards and that the international community has recognised the results of the elections.’
They repeated that if the opposition presents evidence that even one per cent of votes were fabricated, the ruling party will accept the conduct of repeat parliamentary elections.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has welcomed an upcoming visit of the EU mediator in the talks with the opposition to calm the current political tension in the country.
The EU has urged for a ‘wide consensus’ and a dialogue between the Georgian Dream ruling party and the opposition to solve the current tension ahead of the 6th meeting of the EU-Georgia Association Council in Brussels on March 16, RFE/RL has cited the EU’s draft as saying for the meeting. Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili is scheduled to participate in the meeting. The document also urges Georgian political parties to refrain from sharp rhetoric.
Twenty-three former diplomats, ambassadors and representatives of various international organisations have released an open letter in which they said that the Georgian Dream government ‘must take the first step’ to solve the current tension in the country and this step should be the release of the new head of the United National Movement opposition party Nika Melia.
European Council President Charles Michel has mandated Christian Danielsson to lead a EU-backed mediation effort in Georgia, in follow up to the relaunch of the political dialogue between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition. The appointment comes shortly after Michel’s visit to Georgia earlier this month.
The EU mediator in the talks between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition amid the current political tension, Christian Danielsson, has stated that the parties should themselves find a solution to the situation with the help of mediation. He stated that Georgia ‘is a valuable partner’ for the EU and that the EU is concerned by the ‘current political deadlock’ in the country.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has met with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi in Brussels earlier today, before the sixth EU-Georgia Association Council meeting.