**Georgia’s Parliamentary Elections and Post-Election Events at Center of PACE Debate**
The opening day of the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) was dominated by discussions on Georgia’s October parliamentary elections and post-election events. Some lawmakers called for new elections.
Romanian MP Iulian Bulai presented a report on the Georgian elections published in November. He said that irregularities had undermined the fairness of the electoral process and trust in its outcome, making the results illegitimate. Bulai described recent developments as “alarming” due to police brutality against demonstrators and the ruling party’s decision to abandon the EU path.
Bulai regretted that post-election events have only confirmed the concerns expressed in the PACE report. He called for the release of political prisoners and new elections, saying Georgia was moving towards autocracy. The Romanian MP urged PACE to encourage Georgian authorities to work towards new elections for greater legitimacy.
Other lawmakers also spoke out on Georgia’s situation. Latvian MP Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica said that Georgia’s situation had “deteriorated dramatically” over the past year. German Bundestag member Frank Schwabe stated that everything was going in the wrong direction in Georgia, and it was correct that its delegation’s credentials were being questioned.
Hungarian National Assembly member Zsolt Németh questioned the challenge to the Georgian delegation’s credentials, citing the country’s difficult geopolitical circumstances. Russian neighbor Russia was hinted at as a factor.
Not all lawmakers shared the same views, however. German Bundestag member Andrej Hunko supported the official election results and claimed that the October elections were no different from others in the past.
Georgian Dream Parliament Vice Speaker Tea Tsulukiani spoke out on behalf of the Georgian delegation. She denied that the elections had been rigged, saying people just didn’t like the results. Tsulukiani also stated that the EU had not opened accession negotiations with Georgia and that the GD had not stopped any talks. The assembly will decide on January 29 whether to ratify the credentials of the Georgian delegation.
The PACE winter session is ongoing in Strasbourg until January 31.
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