Former US Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker: "Georgia does need new elections - not because of 2020 outcome, but to reestablish public legitimacy of institutions - after electoral reforms passed"
The ruling Georgian Dream party has won the parliamentary elections last year. However, claiming the elections were rigged, the opposition refuses to take up their mandates. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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US foreign policy expert and former ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker does not see the need for repeat parliamentary elections in Georgia.
Volker told TV Pirveli media outlet that despite certain violations which need to be investigated, the OSCE/ODIHR has recognised last year’s elections as transparent and legitimate, but "Georgia does need new elections - not because of 2020 outcome, but to reestablish public legitimacy of institutions - after electoral reforms passed," Volker underlined.
The political situation in Georgia has become so tense that none of the sides want to take the responsibility”, Volker said.
Welcoming the EU-backed mediation effort led by Christian Danielsson, Kurt Vokler said the ruling party and the opposition should carry out the reforms offered by the EU mediator together.
Last week the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition failed to come to an agreement in the EU-mediated talks for the second time in Georgia.
The US and EU lawmakers, who are concerned with the political crisis in Georgia, have called on all parties to find the solution out of the deadlock.
Member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs Michael Gahler says the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition United National Movement (UNM) should reach an agreement on the release of UNM leader Nika Melia from the detention facility if he will wear a monitoring bracelet again.
Seven MEPs have released a joint statement saying that they are ‘deeply disappointed’ with political leaders in Georgia ‘for their inability’ to reach an agreement in the EU-mediated talks last Tuesday on election-related issues and the release of opposition figures. They said that the proposal offered by EU-mediator in the talks Christian Danielsson was ‘in the best interests of Georgia.’
The ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition have failed to come to an agreement in EU-mediated talks for the second time. The document offered by EU mediator Christian Danielsson yesterday which concerned ‘ambitious electoral and judicial reform’ and offered amnesty for suspects and convicts of the June 2019 protests in Tbilisi was not signed by any of the parties.
Jeanne Shaheen, a ranking member of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is ‘surprised and disappointed’ that all parties in Georgia ‘have allowed the current crisis to last so long’.
“Georgia’s parliamentary elections were competitive and, overall, fundamental freedoms were respected”, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in its preliminary statement today.