TBILISI

The European Union hailed an agreement reached between Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party and some opposition leaders as a move that would end a political crisis that was threatening to derail the country’s already vulnerable economy.

After months of unsuccessful EU-mediated talks the government and some opposition leaders signed an agreement late on Monday, although the biggest opposition party, United National Movement, as well as some others, refused to sign it. Two politicians from these parties signed the document individually.

The government and the opposition have been trying to reach a consensus on ending the deadlock for several months.  The EU even sent a high-ranking diplomat to help mediate talks, but they proved unsuccessful. The EU then warned Georgia it may suspend its financial aid to the country unless a solution is found, and has displayed an unusual amount of frustration with Tbilisi.

Opposition supporters demanded new elections, insisting that last year’s contest was rigged, and have boycotted parliament. The situation has paralysed a system already overwhelmed by the COVID-19 crisis, which has hit Georgia’s tourism-reliant economy especially hard. The ex-Soviet country has been hurt far more than many other regional neighbours because of its heavy reliance on tourism, which has been at a standstill for more than a year. The protests intensified after last year’s parliamentary election.

Another issue at the negotiation table was the release of opposition leader Nika Melia, who awaits a court verdict, and Giorgi Rurua, an opposition supporter and a shareholder of pro-opposition TV channel Mtavari Arkhi.

Earlier on Monday Georgia’s President Salome Zurabishvili said she was ready to pardon Giorgi Rurua, who was sentenced to four years in prison.

Zurabishvili said she would sign a decree pardoning Rurua only if an agreement between the government and the opposition was reached and signed, and international mediators confirm the deal. Rurua was arrested in November 2019 on charges of illegal purchase, storage and carrying of weapons. He was sentenced to four years in prison. The opposition regards his arrest as politically motivated.

The President’s pardon does not include Melia as his verdict has not yet been announced.

Melia, the formal leader of the UNM, was arrested in February for refusing to pay a bail charge imposed on him after he ripped off a monitoring tag during an opposition protest in November, soon after a parliamentary election that government critics say was unfair. He was initially charged for inciting violence during anti-government protests in June 2019, which later turned violent. He claims the charges were politically motivated.

Melia said on Tuesday that he would not pay a bail that had been set by the Prosecutor’s Office for his release as the signed agreement did not reflect the opposition’s main demand – snap election to be held this year.

Another legal option for his release is the adoption of an amnesty law by the parliament. Politicians from the ruling party as well as the opposition said they were ready to go green light to the document as soon as they enter the parliament.

The signed agreement, apart from the release of “political prisoners”, judicial and electoral reforms, includes a possibility to hold an early parliamentary election in 2022, if the ruling Georgian Dream party received less than 43 percent of the vote in October 2021 local self-government elections.

The continuing anti-government protests presented Georgia with its biggest domestic challenge in years. International observers said the vote was “competitive and, overall, fundamental freedoms were respected,” but they also cited pervasive allegations of pressure on voters, and added that there were widespread reports of vote-buying.

The situation worsened earlier this year when Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia quit in February after a court issued an order to arrest Melia. Gakharia indicated that the court order was dubious, and cited the possibility of disorder in the country.