On 15 May, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili pardoned Georgian opposition politicians Gigi Ugulava and Irakli Okruashvili, which she said was ‘a very difficult decision.’
She said that although she is very well aware of the ‘real actions and crimes’ of the two former officials, she is pardoning them for the sake of 'the country’s interests.’ “Georgia will hold fair and democratic elections and no one can hinder that,” she stated. Zourabichvili also added that she was not pardoning Ugulava and Okruashvili as ‘political prisoners’, as Georgia does not have any political prisoners, but because of the aim to put an end to speculations around this issue, which are ‘discrediting the country.’ She emphasized that although Georgia is ‘such a democratic, free and stable’ country nowadays, it might be facing a ‘political crisis’, as the opposition is ‘trying to manipulate, cause disorder, move the processes out to the street and provoke destabilisation’ ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The ruling Georgian Dream executive chair Irakli Kobakhidze said that the party did not know of the president’s decision until it was publicly announced. ”The president might have had her pragmatic opinion […] We don’t agree with the president that keeping these two criminals in prison could have caused any problems within or outside the country,” he said.
Zourabichvili’s move was welcomed by the foreign diplomats who facilitated the 8 March agreement. “We welcome today’s decision by the President of Georgia to use her constitutional powers in the interest of political depolarisation and creating a political environment more conducive to a free, fair and transparent electoral process,” read the joint statement of the diplomats.
The US Senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen also released statements following Zourabichvili’s pardons. “We welcome today’s pardon and release from prison of Mr. Okruashvili and Mr. Ugulava. This is an important step in the implementation of the 8 March agreement that will modify Georgia’s electoral system and bring an end to political interference in the judiciary. Today’s releases send a strong signal to all those who worked to bring about and signed the agreement that progress can and will be made,” the statement read.
Upon his release, Ugulava demanded that Giorgi Rurua also needs to be released in order to fully comply with the agreement. “Georgia is not alone, and the world is not roofed with straw, not even covered with coronavirus. This shameful page in the nearest history and the epoch of political prisoners and reaction of the government has to be closed. This issue has to be solved with adoption of Constitutional changes since changes are necessary to repel the storm we are facing today,” Ugulava said.
On 13 May, the parliamentary and non-parliamentary opposition members in Georgia issued in a joint statement that the election agreement from 8 March with the ruling Georgian Dream party was doomed to fail if the government ‘won’t fully abide by the agreement.” Several of the opposition leaders also stated that if the ruling party continues to disregard the agreement, they will take to the streets taking the pandemic into account. Some EU parliamentarians also voiced their discontent that the opposition leaders were kept in prison (Caucasus Watch reported).
