18 local civil society organizations stated Georgian Dream’s withdrawal from the EU-brokered April 19 deal “constitutes a straightforward rejection of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic course and the peaceful development of the country through democratic reforms.”
The CSOs argued the move serves “only a desire to retain power,” alluding to a clause in the agreement that obligates holding early parliamentary elections in 2022 if the ruling party receives less than 43% of votes in the October 2 local polls in 2021.
They stressed the GD “is ready sacrifice” the country’s prosperity, foreign policy orientation and relations with strategic partners to stay in power.
The joint statement was signed by key CSOs, Transparency International (TI) Georgia, International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI), Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF) and civic movement Shame, among others.
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