Three opposition groups, Coalition for Changes, Unity National Movement and Strong Georgia, have appealed to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and its parliamentary factions, urging them not to confirm the credentials of Georgia’s parliamentary delegation.

“Dear President,

We, the undersigned representatives of Georgian political parties and coalitions, address this formal and urgent appeal to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Guided by profound respect for this Assembly’s enduring commitment to upholding democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, we hereby formally request that the credentials of the Georgian delegation not be verified, pursuant to Rule 8.2 of the Rules of Procedure.

Unfortunately, the parliamentary elections of 26 October, 2024, were deeply flawed and held in violation of the constitutional principles of our country, as well as international democratic standards. The scale and intensity of falsification mechanisms used by the Georgian Dream fundamentally undermined the credibility of the electoral process, eroded public trust towards its results and grossly violated fundamental principles of free and fair elections. As a result, the self-proclaimed ‘Parliament,’ which today consists of only the Georgian Dream MPs, as well as the person nominated by the same body as ‘President’ of Georgia, cannot be considered as legitimately elected. Neither reflects the will of the majority of the Georgian voters as expressed through free and fair democratic elections.

The Assembly, reviewing the credentials of the ‘delegation’, has to take into consideration that any potential delegation representing Georgia will be composed solely of the members of the self-proclaimed regime of the Georgian Dream, given that we do not acknowledge the legitimacy of ‘parliament.’

Moreover, some of the individuals who might be nominated as members of the delegation may be subject to existing or forthcoming international sanctions. Key figures of the self-proclaimed regime of the Georgian Dream, including oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is responsible for democratic backsliding, electoral fraud, state-sponsored terror, mass human rights violations, and the persecution of political opponents and activists, are subject to international sanctions imposed by Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and the United States.

Deeply flawed parliamentary elections and one-party composition of the self- proclaimed delegation is enough reason for the credentials not being verified.

In addition to Deeply flawed elections, Georgia has witnessed the brutal crackdown, illegal detention, torture, and inhuman treatment of civilians participating in continuous peaceful protests over the past weeks.

This protest was triggered by the rigged elections and the declaration of the self-proclaimed PM, Irakli Kobakhidze regarding the suspension of Georgia’s EU integration process. To this day not a single case of violence against the peaceful demonstrators has been investigated.

Meanwhile, more than 50 people remain in jail on fabricated charges, with hundreds of others facing administrative charges. Ongoing political repressions have been amplified by recent draconian legislative changes, increasing punitive measures against the demonstrators, contradicting both democratic principles and PACE recommendations.

New elections and release of all political prisoners are the only way, the European way to resolve the current severe crisis. Participants of large, widespread, and permanent protests across the country demand:

the immediate release of all political prisoners who were illegally detained during peaceful demonstrations, and conducting new, free, fair, and transparent parliamentary elections”, - reads the appeal.