Page 6 - GEORptMar20

2.0​ ​Politics
2.1​ ​Georgia parliament reappoints controversial ex-chief
prosecutor
Georgia's parliament on February 18 by an 82-to-zero vote in favour among 150 MPs voted for the country's last but one prosecutor general, Irakli Shotadze, to retake his post. The opposition boycotted the vote.
Shotadze will serve a non-renewable six-year term.
The opposition's criticism of Shotadze related to how when previously prosecutor general he in their eyes delivered a weak performance. It did not relate to his alleged direct involvement in cases of corruption. The appointment, they added, would be seen as politically biased, thus hindering or preventing much needed reforms in Georgia's judiciary system.
Shotadze responded to his reappointment by saying that the debating and voting process was very “transparent and the public saw it clearly”. He said his priorities would include building public confidence in the Prosecutor’s Office and strengthening it, as well as restoring justice.
The position of chief prosecutor became vacant last December when the parliament confirmed Shalva Tadumadze as a Supreme Court justice with a lifetime tenure.
Shotadze, who became prosecutor general in late 2015, resigned in May 2018 following a mass demonstration at his office over the controversial Khorava street incident, in which two 16 year-olds – Davit Saralidze and Levan Dadunashvili – were stabbed to death.
Following Shotadze’s confirmation, a ruling Georgian Dream party lawmaker, former speaker of parliament Irakli Kobakhidze, told journalists that “Irakli Shotadze is a professional; he took a dignified step at the time. He has all the reasons to return to the prosecutor general’s position and work on this post in a worthy way.”
Opposition parties, supporters and civil society activists held a protest rally and made "corridors of shame" for ruling party MPs by the parliament entrance.
2.2​ ​Georgia government, opposition hire lobby groups in US as general election approaches
The Georgian government has renewed a lobbying contract with a US firm with ties to American President Donald Trump amid growing Congressional concern over the South Caucasian country’s commitment to democracy, Radio Free Europe has reported.​ The main opposition party, meanwhile, is working with Randy Scheunemann’s Orion Strategies, a firm that was once hired by the former Georgian government under the leadership of Mikheil Saakashvili, the self-exiled politician now seen as the opposition's
6​ GEORGIA Country Report​ March 2020 ​​www.intellinews.com