Ambassador Degnan: ‘Both Parts’ of March 8 Agreement Must Be Fulfilled

On June 25, United States Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan told journalists that the facilitators “do not want to comment on the specifics that were involved in reaching” the March 8 Agreement between Georgia’s ruling party and opposition over the constitutional changes. However, everyone would like to see “both parts of the agreement fulfilled.”

“Right now, we’ve had two votes on the part of the agreement that pertains to the electoral system for this coming election, and the joint statement that regards political interference in the judicial process and selective prosecutions also needs to be fulfilled,” Degnan stated.

According to her, it would be “a real accomplishment” from the point of view of the U.S. if Georgia passed the constitutional amendments with full, multiparty support, thus showing “a real commitment to progress in the democratic process here and creating conditions for fair elections this fall.”

However, in her remarks, the U.S. Ambassador also noted that from the point of view of some of the opposition parties, “further steps need to be taken” to fulfill the joint statement. “We hope that will happen and the agreement can be fulfilled and the constitutional amendments passed,” the U.S. Ambassador said.

In a separate development, MEP Anna Fotyga (ECR, Poland) also called for the full implementation of the March 8 deal, “including release of political prisoner” Giorgi Rurua. She said these  are “essential steps to adopt the constitutional package and to move Georgia on to democratic elections.”

The opposition United National Movement (UNM) and European Georgia parties demand the release of “political prisoner” Giorgi Rurua, as a precondition for voting for the constitutional changes in its final hearing. They say release of Rurua formed is a part of March 8 deal, facilitated by the EU, German and U.S. Ambassadors to Georgia.

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