The parliamentary majority, together with the members of the parliamentary political groups - "Girchi", "European Socialists", "Citizens" and the party "For Georgia" participated in the meeting on procedures for the selection of Public Defender candidates.

The Chairman of "Georgian Dream," Mamuka Mdinaradze, claims that there were divergent viewpoints among the opposition representatives. However, it is necessary that the selection process for the public defender be open to everyone and take non-governmental organizations' involvement into consideration as much as possible.

"A significant portion of them also stated that the presenter should be a political entity, such as a faction or political group, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure. Tomorrow, we'll hear from non-governmental organizations about their perspectives and share our goal with the public so that the process isn't merely carried out for its own sake”, - Mamuka Mdinaradze noted.

According to him, risks should be excluded and it does not depend only on the ruling team.

"Through compromises, we should reach a consensus and work so that a more or less acceptable candidate is elected," said Mamuka Mdinaradze.

According to Levan Ioseliani, a member of the parliamentary political group "Citizens", the Vice-Speaker of the Parliament, the public defender should be selected exactly according to the rules outlined in the 12-point plan.

"Political parties and the third sector should both be included in this inclusive process. We must come to a consensus if we wish to put the EC's proposals into practice. I value non-governmental organizations' perspectives. I think political parties should be accountable for putting out their own candidates", - Levan Ioseliani noted.

According to the member of the party "For Georgia", Giorgi Khojevanishvili, they mainly discussed procedural issues at the meeting.

"The candidate should, of course, have the support of as many political subjects as is feasible. The election of the PD should take place in open and inclusive circumstances. Our stance on these concerns is that the procedure should be open and the candidate should have the backing of a political organization. We'll take part in these discussions", - Giorgi Khojevanishvili remarked.

According to Aleksandre Rakviashvili, a member of the political group "Girchi", the position of their political group is to achieve the highest possible consensus.

"There will be numerous discussions, including those with non-governmental organizations, and if they are open to the public and everyone can see who is taking what positions, we will at least meet the requirement of transparency. If this is then followed by a proper consensus, then this decision will also be quite acceptable”, - Alexander Rakviashvili remarked.

According to the assessment of the Chairman of the political group "European Socialists", Fridon Injia, before the election procedure is established, the criteria for election must be identified.

"The position of the public defender is one of the most important, and we believe that there should be a person in this position who will be acceptable to all political parties and to different strata of society”, - Fridon Injia stated.

According to the Chairman of the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee, Mikheil Sarjveladze, the degree of inclusiveness is particularly important, but the variety of choices that this process should provide is no less important.

"We have a predetermined idea of how things should work. We had information that the three opposition parties would attend the meeting, but it now appears that the plan has changed. They continue to be destructive about things about which people cannot be destructive, which is a poor reflection of their decision. They claim to have the sole authority to talk about Europe while we are working to put European suggestions into practice. By disobeying the European recommendation, they accomplish all of this. According to the European suggestion, the process should be inclusive of politicians, and it would be disastrous to withdraw and ignore it. It is impossible to come up with a defense for their positions”, - M. Sarjveladze stated.

The issue related to the appointment of a new public defender is one of the recommendations of the European Commission.

Tomorrow, representatives of the ruling team will meet with those from non-governmental groups to discuss this subject. After hearing their perspectives, they will submit a plan on how to choose a public defender candidate.