Givi Mikanadze, a member of the parliamentary majority addressed the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe saying “Challenging the credentials of the Georgian delegation and demanding to organize new elections is a direct interference in domestic affairs and a threat to the sovereignty of Georgia. It is an unfair decision, which contradicts the will of the majority population of my country.”

In his speech. Mikanadze noted that “the OSCE/ODIHR observation mission report commended the election administration for the well-organized and administered elections.”

Below is his speech as delivered:

“Today, in this hemicycle we are facing a situation that does not meet those values which are essential to the Council of Europe and the PACE particularly. Challenging the credentials of the Georgian delegation and demanding to organize new elections is a direct interference in domestic affairs and a threat to the sovereignty of Georgia. It is an unfair decision, which contradicts the will of the majority population of my country.

Facts about elections speak for themselves:

• The OSCE/ODIHR observation mission report commended the election administration for the well-organized and administered elections;
• The difference between the winner Georgian Dream and the second runner opposition party is 43%;
• Opposition had 25 thousand members in the precinct commissions, the vast majority of them signed summary protocols of the elections, while only 9 expressed dissenting opinion regarding the summary protocols;
• Two times less complaints were filed in comparison with previous elections;

Electronic machines were used for voting by more than 90% of voters, these machines were audited by international audit company Pro V&V and conclusion highlighted that they operated smoothly and in line with international standards. This conclusion was supported by the results of investigation carried out by the General Prosecutor’s Office;

During questionings in the court, most of the witnesses were unable to provide any evidence to the investigation of election fraud. Their arguments were based solely on unverified information provided by third parties. They appealed to the facts reported in the media, while individual witnesses told the investigation that the statements they made about specific facts of election fraud served as a preventive measure and did not contain information based on real facts;

Opposition is not recognizing the results of the elections for the ninth time in a row, they are not entering the parliament, however, 3 out of 4 opposition parties accepted state funding based on the results of the October elections, which is 120 thousand euros per month.

At the end of my speech, I want to quote the Georgian Ombudsman, who said “I don’t know, if there were at least a thousand people who would constantly talk about it, or if three hundred and fifty thousand people were deprived of their right to vote, and I don’t know how many months have passed since the elections, there must be some evidence, basic evidence behind these statements for the public to be convinced. The most neutral and trustworthy thing I have at hand is the OSCE/ODIHR and its assessments. All of this combined does not allow me to blindly believe someone’s statement”.

Based on all above, it would be very unfair not to ratify the credentials of the Georgian delegation or even to ratify with unacceptable conditions. Once again, we express our readiness to cooperate with the Council of Europe based on the agreement between the Georgian Prime Minister and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe from December 2024. Any decision rather than ratifying credentials will be ignoring the will of the majority of the Georgian population and in contradiction with the core values of the PACE. Accordingly, we call for the members of the PACE to vote against the draft resolution presented by the Monitoring Committee and support our amendments.”