On 19 February, the EU ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell, publicly commented on the political situation in the country and means to overcome it, reported georgiatoday.
“As far as we know, presently there’s a tough situation. Although, we’ll see what can be done, I want to say that time is running out. In order to make changes to the legislation, a core bilateral foundation must be sought, because the window of opportunity is closing. We are in coordination with all sides, to see the opportunities we have. We are certain that successful completion of the dialogue will help sort out the issue of highly polarized politics,” he said.
Hartzell also commented on the re-election of Irakli Shotadze as Georgia’s Prosecutor General (Caucasus Watch reported). “Mr. Shotadze’s appointment as Prosecutor General was predictable continuation of the procedure. On the one hand, Mr. Shotadze has a long career in this area, on the other hand, without doubt, this decision is problematic, as it does not promote confidence in the judiciary. I think this is a challenge in the general political environment today. This is an issue that needs to be thought out and taken into account in the future,” he stressed.
Besides Hartzell, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Georgia, Louisa Vinton, also expressed her concerns over the political situation in the country. “I think Georgia had a difficult road to establishing its reputation and building a democratic republic. Today, the countries which are associates of Georgia are concerned about the overall situation and specific occurrences happening in the Georgian Parliament. For example, yesterday we were attending a hearing, and the seats apportioned to the opposition were empty, which is quite hurtful. In order to overcome this polarization issue, different methods must be researched, for the Parliament to factually continue its consensual workings,” she said.
The Staff Director of the US Senate the Foreign Relations Committee Chris Socha also came to Tbilisi and met with the Georgian Prime Minister Gakharia, as well as parliamentarians and NGO representatives to discuss the issue of polarization and the legitimate functioning of Georgia’s democratic institutions. “Mr. Socha discussed concerns about a weakening of Georgian democracy and governance and carried a clear message from the chairman of the committee, US Senator Jim Risch, that the United States supports Georgia's democratic development, but the institutions of government must respect everyone's political rights and continue to strengthen the checks and balances that ensure government power is properly constrained,” read the statement of the US embassy.
