Salome Zurabishvili does not agree with the Georgian Dream's argument that the polarization was not reduced in the April 19 agreement.
The President said at a briefing on August 3:
"I do not agree with the ruling party's assessment that the polarization has not been reduced, thus justifying withdrawal from the agreement. The document reduces this polarization, weakens it and I am sure this process will continue despite everything. This is the single way for strengthening stability and independence, which is the choice of our country."
According to her, she takes responsibility for drafting the agreement and is proud of it, however, she cannot take responsibility for certain elements of the document and its annulment. According to the President, the red lines should have been fixed before the agreement was signed.
"Today, the post-factum finding that it turns out that we have given up something that was unacceptable and that might harm the country is incomprehensible [...]. The goals and principles on which this document is based is not exhaustive and represents the path that this country has to go through," - said Salome Zurabishvili.
The President also noted that on August 2, she spoke to the parties that signed the document and stressed their (opposition) "responsible attitude that they entered parliament on the basis of these documents."
"In the face of pandemics and economic crises, in the face of regional challenges, our only way is to end polarization. We have local elections, which I signed yesterday. This election should be exemplary. The rights of all subjects should be protected, which will exclude violence, hate-speech, intimidation, the use of personal data, declaring competitors as traitors, obstruction of professional media, the spread of fake news and various forms of pressure," she said.
On July 28, the Georgian Dream stated that the Charles Michel Agreement had expired and that it had been annulled.
With this decision, the ruling party has refused to commit to holding snap parliamentary elections in the event of less than 43%, therefore, the appointment of early elections will depend on their good will.
Prior to the withdrawal from the agreement, the Georgian Dream did not comply with the document's obligation to suspend the process of appointing lifetime judges to the Supreme Court until judicial reform, and appointed six judges for life.
The Charles Michel document was signed on April 19, after six months of negotiations between the government and the opposition. UNM, Elene Khoshtaria and European Georgia did not sign the document.
დახურვა