The Speaker of the Parliament, H.E. Shalva Papuashvili held a meeting with the PACE Monitoring Committee co-rapporteurs, Edite ESTRELA and Sabina ĆUDIĆ.

Mr Papuashvili welcomed the opportunity to meet with the co-rapporteurs and noted that by holding the Municipal Elections in October, Georgia has completed another electoral cycle. The next three years will be dedicated to the development of legal and institutional reforms.

In the context of the cooperation with the PACE, the Speaker stated that no evidence or document of the alleged fraud in the 2024 Parliamentary Elections exists.

Consequently, he questioned the PACE’s request for snap elections under the resolution adopted at the beginning of the year, which led to the termination of the Georgia Parliamentary Delegation in PACE. The Speaker asserted that the Municipal Elections were held under the same conditions as the Parliamentary Elections. However, two opposition parties halted their boycott and ran for the elections. This is yet another fact that indirectly confirms the allegations of fraud in the Parliamentary Elections were fabricated.

The parties reviewed the laws adopted by Parliament. Speaker Papuashvili provided the co-rapporteurs with detailed information on the legal amendments and emphasised that the laws that are criticised are under consideration by the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Therefore, it is preferable to abstain from political assessments and await court orders.

The discourse addressed the plans of Georgia on the EU integration path. The Speaker informed the guests of the ongoing fulfilment of the Association Agreement commitments.

The discussion centred on the claim to the Constitutional Court concerning the recognition of three opposing parties as unconstitutional.

Shalva Papuashvili underscored that Georgia remains a loyal member of the PACE and underlined the significance of the respect for the sovereignty, democracy, rule of law and human rights by the PACE.

The meeting was attended by Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee.