Georgian Authorities, Opposition Sign Agreement To Overcome Political Crisis

TBILISI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2021) Representatives of the Georgian authorities and the opposition publicly signed an agreement on overcoming the political crisis at the presidential residence in Tbilisi, which was proposed by European Council President Charles Michel, the signing ceremony was broadcast live by the presidential administration.

The political crisis arose in Georgia after almost all opposition parties rejected parliamentary mandates, calling the elections rigged. With mass protest actions, they demanded the release of political prisoners and the appointment of early parliamentary elections. The opposition considers Nika Melia, the chairman of the opposition United National Movement party, and Giorgi Rurua, co-owner of opposition broadcaster Mtavari Arkhi, as political prisoners. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said earlier Monday that she was ready to pardon Rurua a week after the opposition and the authorities sign the agreement. Melia, presumably, will be released under an amnesty, which the parliament must pass, according to the adopted document.

Earlier, Michel proposed to the Georgian authorities and opposition a new five-point document to overcome the political crisis, including the initiation of an amnesty law to release all participants in the summer protests of June 19-21, 2019, and citizens detained for political reasons; electoral reform; judicial reform; distribution of parliamentary posts according to the new rules and the possibility of calling early parliamentary elections in 2022 if the Georgian Dream party gains less than 43 percent of the votes in the local elections to be held in October 2021.