Parliament Speaker slams use of PACE against Georgia by Saakashvili allies

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday took to social media to express his disappointment over the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe session, stating that it was regrettable that the political groups patronizing the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili had long been using the body as a weapon against the Georgian people.

Papuashvili noted that back in 2022, with the involvement of these political groups, PACE adopted a resolution declaring Saakashvili, a figure responsible for establishing a corrupt system of torture and business racketeering, as a political prisoner and demanded his release, adding that “since then, none of PACE’s resolutions or decisions has come as a surprise”.

“After PACE adopted a resolution in January 2025 that undermined the sovereignty of the Georgian people, all members of the Georgian parliamentary delegation withdrew from the Assembly. As a result, the Georgian Parliament currently has no delegation at the PACE, and accordingly, the issue of recognising the delegation’s credentials cannot be considered”, he said.

The Speaker further pointed out his address to PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos on February 5, 2025.

He published the letter, in which he stated:

“Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to let you know that the members of the Delegation of the Parliament of Georgia to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe addressed the Parliament with letters of resignation from the Delegation. Therefore, the Delegation is not complete and, thus, cannot represent the Parliament of Georgia to PACE.

I would also like to make a few clarifications regarding the decision to annul the Parliamentary Delegation to PACE.

PACE, in its latest Resolution (2585 (2025)) from January 29, 2025, set conditions to the recognition of the credentials of the Georgian Delegation. Thus, PACE infringed on the sovereign right of the people of Georgia to elect its own government, by setting a precondition of holding re-election of the Parliament for recognising the full legitimacy of the Georgian Delegation to PACE.

PACE’s attempt at non-recognition of Georgian people's choice goes contrary to not only Georgian sovereignty and the foundational values and principles of the Council of Europe, but also represents a case of how politically motivated decisions ignore the reality on the ground thus further fueling political polarisation.

Such attempts of particular political groupings to weaponise PACE for their particularistic goals sets a dangerous precedent, which can potentially offset the very values and principles of the Council of Europe. Such acts enable whimsical decisions of biased and partisan groupings within PACE that desire to score political points and set an agenda that contradicts the very foundation of democracy, which is popular sovereignty and the CoE’s principles of protection of human rights and freedoms. Needless to say, such decisions damage PACE and its standing in the first place by endangering the principle of inclusivity.

The last such attempt by the PACE to infringe on Georgian sovereignty was the Resolution 2463 (2022) from October 13, 2022, which called former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, a “political prisoner” and called for his release from his legal and legitimate detention.

Dear Mr. President,

Let me reiterate that, despite annulling the Delegation to PACE, Georgia remains committed to the core values and principles of the Council ol Europe, which presume respect for people’s choice, majority rule and minority rights, and the rule of law”.