Georgian Parliament official blasts opposition's PACE sabotage efforts

At today’s session of the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Parliament of Georgia, Givi Mikanadze, an MP and Chair of the Committee on Education, Science, and Youth Affairs, provided testimony regarding actions by certain political figures between 2012 and 2025 that are believed to have undermined Georgia’s foreign policy objectives.

During the hearing, Mikanadze recalled the post-election period following parliamentary elections, when the newly elected Georgian parliamentary delegation’s credentials were to be confirmed at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

He described an “unprecedented mobilization” of radical groups, specific politicians, and representatives of the NGO sector who, according to him, acted with the aim of discrediting Georgia and obstructing the recognition of the delegation’s mandate.

“Their goal was clear - to prevent the confirmation of the Georgian parliamentary delegation’s mandate and to inflict reputational damage on our country. This was not even hidden. Some politicians openly and publicly declared that their aim was to ensure the delegation’s credentials would not be recognised by the Parliamentary Assembly”, Mikanadze said.

He noted that such a scale of opposition presence and NGO engagement at PACE had not been observed in previous convocations.

“I don’t recall such numbers of opposition actors and NGO representatives at the Council of Europe. I’ve worked with the Council for years - both at the Tbilisi office and for a time in Strasbourg HQ. These individuals were not there in an official capacity. They had declined their mandates and refused to enter the Parliament, as you know. Yet they arrived in Strasbourg days in advance, and it appears they had already been in close contact with various political groups”, the official continued.

Mikanadze further emphasised that the opposition had particularly active communication with the European People’s Party and the liberal ALDE group.