There is a continued commitment on all participants to carry on negotiations and make progress before the opening of the next parliament, Carl Hartzell, EU Ambassador to Georgia and facilitator in the ruling party and opposition discussions over the October 31 parliamentary elections told media.

Hartzell believes that it is encouraging that the opposition and the ruling party managed to find a common ground about future election reforms during the fourth round held yesterday.

Carl Hartzell said: “Yesterday, we had another round in the dialogue. I think over these last two days, we have made some important progress even though discussions are difficult. I think the most encouraging part of the discussion has been that we have managed to find a common ground with regard to future election reforms, which is very important, because this is the key to making sure that future elections will have fewer shortcomings and fewer problems then we saw in these last elections and that we have seen in previous elections as well. So, I think that is good news. The other issues remain on the table, and many of them remain unresolved. We will see whether it is possible to advance further. There is a continued commitment on all participants to the dialogue to continue, and I foresee that we will give it another go tomorrow to see whether we can still make progress before the opening of the next parliament”.

The next round of discussions between the ruling party and opposition is likely to be held on Thursday.