PM praises “worthy” opposition nominee for Public Defender
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday praised Levan Ioseliani, an opposition nominee for the country’s new public advocate.
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday praised Levan Ioseliani, an opposition MP from the Citizens party, as a “worthy” nominee to become the country’s new Public Defender.
Speaking to the media at the ongoing ITB Berlin international tourism fair, the head of the Government said the ruling party was expected to support Ioseliani in the forthcoming vote in the Parliament for electing the new ombudsperson.
Of course, the final decision is on the Parliamentary majority. This is my view, and, given that I am aware of the position of the majority [on the subject], I am also sharing my own stance”, the PM added.
Selecting an “unbiased” public advocate is one of 12 conditions outlined by the European Council for granting Georgia the European Union membership candidate status later this year.
The approval of the new public advocate requires at least 90 votes in the 150-member parliament, which means the ruling Georgian Dream party - which currently has 75 MPs - and the opposition would need to cooperate for the selection.
The ruling party last year conceded the opportunity of nominating the Public Defender candidate to the opposition, but stressed they would not vote for “politically biased” nominees.
A part of the Parliamentary minority has already expressed support for Ioseliani, following his nomination for the post by his party at the end of February.
The term of the former Public Defender Nino Lomjaria expired in December.
The Citizens opposition party will nominate one of its leaders Levan Ioseliani for the position of the new Public Defender of Georgia, the party revealed on Tuesday.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said the ruling team was ready to “once again” concede the task of selecting candidates for the country’s new Public Defender to the domestic opposition.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, on Saturday said the domestic opposition was “fully responsible” for the failure of the Public Defender election.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said “many people” in the domestic opposition had been “ready for a consensus” in agreeing on a candidate for the next Public Defender, but added the process had failed in the Parliament due to an “ultimatum from NGOs”, and called the development a “sad reality”.
The Georgian Parliament on Tuesday supported the candidacy of Levan Ioseliani, an opposition MP from the Citizens party, for the position of the Public Defender of Georgia, in a move that concluded a delayed period of candidate selection and vote for the position.
The “severe” situation in security environment, humanitarian and human rights in the Russian-occupied regions of Georgia and along the occupation line were discussed on Friday in a meeting between the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Dimitrios Karabalis, the new Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia.
Multilateral relations and “fruitful cooperation” between Georgia and Armenia were discussed on Friday in a meeting between the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Zhanna Andreasyan, the Armenian Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport.
Levan Ioseliani, the newly appointed Public Defender of Georgia, on Sunday visited the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili and 13 other inmates currently undergoing treatment at the Vivamedi civilian clinic in Tbilisi.
The Georgian Public Defender’s Office on Tuesday said it had studied 153 alleged cases of discrimination last year, with the highest number related to alleged discrimination on the basis of opinion.
Grigol Liluashvili, the head of the Georgian State Security Service, and Levan Ioseliani, the country’s newly elected Public Defender, on Thursday discussed cooperation between their offices.
Levan Ioseliani, the Public Defender of Georgia and Tamar Gvaramadze, the Deputy Public Defender, on Thursday featured in a meeting organised by the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions to enhance promotion and protection of human rights.
Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani discussed human rights and his country’s efforts to obtain the European Union membership candidate status later this year at meetings with United States officials during his first official visit to the country in the position, his office said on Tuesday.
The Tolerance Centre of the Georgian Public Defender’s Office on Thursday marked the annual International Day for Tolerance, declared by the UNESCO to raise public awareness of the dangers of intolerance.
Levan Ioseliani, the Public Defender of Georgia, on Thursday met with Oleksandr Korniyenko, the Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament, in Kyiv, with discussions centred around fostering cooperation between the two nations in safeguarding human rights and addressing shared challenges.
Levan Ioseliani, the Public Defender of Georgia, has applied to the National Bureau of Enforcement with a request to restrict evictions of residents who have lost their only housing during the winter.