Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party announced today that it is suspending its participation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) after the body adopted a resolution critical of the Georgian authorities.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the pan-European organization for human rights and democracy has adopted a resolution calling on the Georgian government to release political prisoners by April 2025 and call new parliamentary elections.
The resolution also limited the rights of the Georgian Dream delegation in the PACE, and the issue will be reviewed again in April 2025.
Georgian Dream rejected the resolution, calling it "unjust and unfounded."
The head of the Georgian delegation, Tea Culukiani, said that demanding new elections exceeds the powers of the PACE, violates Georgia's sovereignty and ignores the will of more than 1,12 million voters. She said that accepting such conditions would constitute a betrayal of the electorate.
Culukiani said that although Georgian Dream is suspending its participation in the PACE, Georgia remains a member of the Council of Europe.
She accused political forces of pressuring Georgia to make "anti-Georgian" decisions, stating that participation will only resume when this "blackmail" stops.
The PACE resolution was supported by 114 members, 13 voted against, while seven abstained.
PACE Rapporteur for Georgia Sabina Ćudić from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), who was appointed to the position this week, said that "the current crisis in Georgia is characterized, among other things, by Russian influence, but also by the decision of the Georgian authorities to pause negotiations with the European Union."
Georgia has been rocked by protests since October's parliamentary elections, which the opposition claims were rigged in favor of Georgian Dream, while the party denies any irregularities in the vote.
Protests escalated in November when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that Georgia would suspend negotiations on joining the European Union until 2028.
The protests have been met with a harsh response from the police, with human rights groups reporting hundreds of arrests and beatings of protesters.
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