“The deadline for the submission of the applications of the Candidates for the Public Defender has expired, 19 applications have been submitted. The procedure is open, transparent and impartial and now, we expect the assessments, it is time for the opposition to select at least 7 candidates to be further discussed”, - the Speaker, Shalva Papuashvili stated at the briefing today.

He introduced the list of the candidates noting that the assessment group is to submit the final assessment as of October 13 according to the criteria stipulated under the Rules of Procedure and the Decree of the Speaker.

“There are four criteria for the assessment – reputation, impartiality, education and experience. The assessments shall be submitted as of October 13 inclusively to allow the political groups, Factions and the 7-member group of the Parliament to nominate their candidates as of October 21 inclusively. At least 7 candidates shall be nominated to start the next stage of the process".

As the Speaker stated, the Majority Faction will abstain from participation in the process prior to the nomination and as 7 candidates are selected, the Majority Faction will declare their supported candidate.

“Since we made a statement about offering the procedure to the opposition no later than September 1 ensuring transparency, openness and engagement and at the same time, the system to at a maximal extent facilitate the selection of equally accessible candidate. Now, we proceed with this process step-by-step and the first we witnessed about it was the absence of critical remarks concerning the procedure approved to the Rules of Procedure as an amendment and to the Decree of the Speaker as a consensus, and it was accompanied by the suspicion about the composition of the 9-member group, and as you may see, it also was expired without leaving the question marks but achieving full consensus with the parties engaged in this process – we have set the 9-member group of assessors. As the hereof experience reveals, the procedure is transparent, open and impartial and now, we expect the assessments, it is time for the opposition to select at least 7 candidates to be further discussed”, - the Speaker stated.