Georgian Dream's delegation quits PACE after losing key powers

Georgia quits PACE

Following a vote on Georgia on 29 January, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) limited the powers of the delegation from the ruling Georgian Dream party but kept its mandate in place, on the condition that political prisoners are released and new parliamentary elections are held by April 2025. The resolution was backed by 114 MEPs, with 13 voting against.

The PACE resolution states that the decision was made in condemnation of police brutality and various human rights violations that the Georgian Dream government failed to address.

In response, Georgian delegation representative Tea Tsulukiani announced that Georgian Dream would “immediately cease its participation in PACE.”

The restrictions imposed on the Georgian Dream delegation include, in particular, the removal of its members from positions as full members or deputies of PACE committees.

So far, there have been only two similar precedents, when PACE suspended the mandates of the delegations from Russia and Azerbaijan.

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PACE calls on the Georgian government to “immediately initiate an inclusive process involving all stakeholders and public figures, including the ruling majority, opposition, and civil society, to address shortcomings identified during the most recent parliamentary elections [26 October 2024] and to create an electoral environment conducive to truly democratic new elections in the coming months.”

The Assembly also demands that the Georgian Dream government:

• organises “new genuinely democratic parliamentary elections”, held under strict international monitoring and conditions of political independence of state institutions and election administration;
• takes immediate and effective steps to “enable Georgia to resume the European integration process” and ensures an immediate end to police brutality and human rights abuses;
• releases all political prisoners before the Assembly’s 2025 April part-session.

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Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has dismissed the PACE resolution as “absurd,” claiming it reflects a “terrible state of European bureaucracy.” He made the remarks on the pro-government Georgian TV channel Imedi.

“Such absurd decisions show that the situation in European bureaucracy is terrible. Ultimately, this does not significantly change the overall situation in our country.

The decision announced by Ms. Tea Tsulukiani on behalf of the delegation and our team was very important. Naturally, this decision was absolutely inevitable—under such circumstances, our delegation cannot continue its work in PACE and will be withdrawn by the parliament.

Of course, the Georgian delegation will return to PACE once attitudes toward the Georgian people and our country change. In the current situation, participating in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is completely meaningless,” Kobakhidze stated.