Parliament Speaker Delivers Annual Report, Slams Opposition, CSOs
On February 8, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili delivered an annual report summarizing the achievements of the Parliament over the past year and highlighting challenges. Papuashvili accused the civil society organizations of trying to influence the parliamentary opposition in the process of electing the new Public Defender. He also criticized the United National Movement for boycotting the legislature.
Annual report
- Achievements
According to the Speaker’s report, the year 2022 was a fairly active year with Parliament passing 298 laws. In addition, the legislature conducted intensive oversight of the performance of ministers and other public officials. Last year, the Parliament heard the Prime Minister three times, ministers 17 times and other accountable officials 20 times. “12 committee investigations were launched; thousands of questions were sent to central and municipal institutions.”
According to the report, the Parliament played an important role in terms of Georgia’s alignment with the European Union. “In close coordination with the executive and judicial authorities, the Parliament’s Office and its committees managed to prepare the answers to the questions related to the issues within the competence of the Parliament and to return the questionnaire to the European Commission,” the report said.
In this context, the report also highlighted the role of the Parliament in the process of implementing the 12 recommendations of the European Commission, noting that “the Parliament held some 60 working group meetings and adopted 82 laws” to implement these recommendations.
The document also focused on the Parliament’s progress in the field of parliamentary diplomacy, stating that the Parliament Speaker, the permanent parliamentary delegations, and the groups of friends of the Parliament made 66 visits abroad, while the Parliament hosted 33 delegations.
- Challenges
Speaking about the key challenges for 2022, Papuashvili named the issue of selecting key officials of state institutions (five non-judge members of the High Council of Justice, the Public Defender of Georgia) as part of the EU recommendations, noting that the issue remains open “due to the radical agenda of certain political parties that create obstacles to parliamentary work.”
- 10/11/2022 – Civil Society Announces Support for 5 Non-judge Candidates for High Council of Justice
- 21/10/2022 – Parliament Releases List of Non-judge Candidates for High Council of Justice
“The radicalization of some political groups means that the legitimacy of the country’s democratic institutions is not recognized and hinders constructive dialogue between political parties,” the report says. The document focuses on the need for institutional reform of the parliament, which will require “long, complex and comprehensive work”.
Other issues
In his speech, Papuashvili focused on several issues, including depolarization, the election of a public defender, new rules for media representatives in Parliament and so on.
Speaking about depolarization, the Parliament Speaker noted that polarization is a new form of modern political competition and “let the country with less polarization than Georgia be the first to throw a stone.” He also stressed that radicalization, not polarization, “is the problem of Georgian politics.” In this context, he criticized part of the opposition for boycotting the Parliament.
“Today, we see empty chairs again and everyone notes in private conversations how irrational, illogical, and confrontational this step is.”
Papuashvili regretted that the first attempt to elect the new public defender has failed, because “the parties did not agree on the candidate who would have enjoyed the support of the qualified majority.” He also accused the civil society sector of playing a negative role, noting that the Parliament “had become hostage to their radical agenda.”
Speaker Papuashvili also reacted to the statement by the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics on new rules of accreditation and conduct for journalists in the Parliament. “It is ironic that the Charter calls on the Parliament not to set ethical standards, while in private conversations, everyone recognizes that ethical journalism is being harmed,” Papuashvili said, adding that “this accreditation will bring nothing but the improvement of these standards.”
MPs’ reactions
The Speaker’s address was criticized by opposition lawmakers. MP Ana Buchukuri of former PM Giorgi Gakharia’s For Georgia party focused on the Parliament’s oversight function, saying that responsible bodies or officials either do not respond to MPs’ questions or respond late.
MP Davit Usupashvili of the Lelo for Georgia party noted that the Speaker should consult the political groups when drafting a report and reflect their opinions in the report.
Teona Akubardia, an independent MP, criticized Papuashvili for using the word ‘radical’ in reference to the opposition, noting that she did not consider herself radical. “I still cannot receive answers to MPs’ questions duly. I ask you to develop an effective mechanism,” she told the Speaker.
Irakli Beraia, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security, said that there was not a single security issue to which the Committee on Defense and Security, as well as other committees did not respond. “The activity of the Parliament in 2022 was unprecedented in terms of Euro-Atlantic integration,” he added.
Parliament’s Vice Speaker Archil Talakvadze said that facts and data confirm that “Georgia has a much stronger, more representative Parliament.” He again called on the opposition to “use this opportunity and this rostrum for which the public has elected you.”
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