The ruling party and the Christian-Democratic Party said they had agreed on some of the provisions outlined in the latter’s memorandum.
Giorgi Targamadze, the Christian-Democratic Party leader, said after the talks he would begin "active work in Parliament" once the ruling party had begun to implement the agreement.
The announcement was made after a second round of talks on June 12, which was also attended by MP Paata Davitaia, leader of On Our Own party.
Targamadze also said after the meeting that if implemented the agreement would give "an important momentum" to the opposition.
After the talks the ruling party issued a written statement outlining what had been agreed.
According to the statement, the ruling party has agreed to allow one lawmaker "who is not a member of the parliamentary majority [which is formed by the ruling party’s 119 lawmakers]," to be appointed to the Supreme Council of Justice – the body overseeing the judicial system. The ruling party has also agreed to appoint opposition representative to the National Regulatory Commission for Communications.
The ruling party, which has a constitutional majority, has also agreed not to amend the constitution without active consultations with the opposition. The initial Christian-Democratic memorandum said that the authorities should guarantee that changes to the constitution were made "only in agreement with the opposition." According to the final agreement the opposition will have more seats in a commission usually set up before any constitutional amendment is passed to thoroughly discuss a proposed constitutional amendment.
According to the final agreement the authorities pledged to "study and analyze" all election violations that took place during the May 21 parliamentary elections. The Christian-Democratic Party’s initial memorandum, however, used the term "to investigate" all election violations.
The ruling party has also agreed to set up a special group with the participation of civil society organizations to develop "a concept of reform" of law enforcement agencies.
The ruling party refused to agree to appoint the General Prosecutor and head of the main state audit agency, the Chamber of Control, in agreement with the opposition. It, however, agreed to develop with the participation of the opposition a new law on the Chamber of Control, that would help to increase the agency’s transparency.
The ruling party has also refused to agree to the demand for the direct election of city mayors and provincial governors.
The ruling party agreed to develop legal guarantees for providing "balanced" access to public TV for so-called ‘Qualified’ political parties – those that won at least 4% of the vote in the last parliamentary elections and at least 3% of the vote in the last local elections.
The ruling party has also reiterated its readiness to provide vice-speakers and deputy chairmen of the parliamentary committees posts to opposition lawmakers. It has also reiterated that the minimum number of lawmakers required for the setting up of a formal parliamentary faction would decrease from seven to six. That would give the Christian-Democratic Party, which has six lawmakers, the possibility to form a faction. The concession would also apply to the Labor Party, but it has said it will boycott Parliament.
Davit Bakradze, the parliamentary chairperman, welcomed the agreement as a positive tone in the current political process. "This is a new standard, which is a standard of dialogue," Bakradze said.
The main opposition group – a coalition of eight parties – as well as the Labor Party refused to participate in the talks.
Some coalition politicians have alleged that the Christian-Democratic Party’s memorandum and the subsequent talks were part of a pre-arranged back-stage deal between the Christian-Democratic Party and the ruling party.
