“The assessments and requests reflected in the resolution are not in line with the opinion and interest of the Georgian people and the Georgian state with regard to the elections,” said Chair of the Tbilisi City Assembly’s (Sakrebulo) Legal Affairs and Human Rights Commission, Nino Vardosanidze, addressing the plenary session of the 50th Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (CoE) in Strasbourg.

Nino Vardosanidze spoke about the resolution text, which was presented at the Congress.

According to Vardosanidze, the resolution is completely inconsistent with reality.

“Unfortunately, the assessments and requests reflected in the resolution are not in line with the opinion and interest of the Georgian people and the Georgian state with regard to the elections.

The resolution refers to the assessments and conclusions of a non-governmental organization ISFED, which manipulated the parallel vote tribulation during the 2020 parliamentary elections. The resolution describes fireworks positively as a symbol of protest, which were actually symbolizing violence, while later rallies, including storming of the presidential or parliament palaces, are described as peaceful protests.

These few examples show how absurd the resolution is, which you are going to support today. The Georgian government as well as the Georgian people will have an adequate reaction to such a responsible statements. The absolute majority of Count Georgians correctly assess the past and make reasonable choices about their future. In fact, everybody knows that free, fair and competitive elections were held in Georgia, which fully reflected the will of the Georgian people. Georgians voted for peace, sovereignty, and progress. And they are firmly committed to this choice,” she said.

Nino Vardosanidze focused on Georgia’s geopolitical location, the challenges in the region, and the importance of local self-government.

“Georgia has to exist in a very complex geopolitical environment surrounded by two ongoing wars in the border region. In this situation, the government has to act with extreme caution, which we have effectively managed so far. I believe that we all should be united around the idea of peace and progress.

We, the representatives of local authorities, know better than others that peace, progress, and prosperity are the main interests of people in any country and community.

Last, I would like to mention that the local self-government is the most trusted public institution in Georgia. The strong victory that our political team secured in the recent municipal elections increases our motivation to justify this trust and to make this local self-government an even stronger institution in our country,” she said.

The Congress, which opened on March 31 and runs till April 2, heard a report from the fact-finding mission implemented on September 24-25 in Tbilisi, led by Stewart Dixon. The report includes recommendations and a resolution text, which was reviewed and put to a vote.

The Congress held debates over acute issues for the region and Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine. The plenary session elected a new President of the Congress, as well as the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the Chambers of Local and Regional Authorities.