Zourabichvili Advocates for Compromise, Hails Georgian Charter as Step Towards EU Integration
On September 23, Giorgi Gakharia’s opposition party, For Georgia, signed the Georgian Charter, a roadmap initiated by President Salome Zourabichvili to advance Georgia's EU integration, as confirmed by a party official.
During a briefing on the same day, President Zourabichvili reviewed the discussions between Gakharia and Mamuka Khazaradze (Lelo for Georgia), noting that although an agreement was not reached, it established a precedent for efforts toward compromise. She stated that the major challenges to Georgia's political progress include the absence of a culture of consensus, a difficult historical legacy, mistrust, and, at times, a conspiracy mindset.
In this context, Zourabichvili emphasized the crucial importance of the Georgian Charter, describing it as a unifying document that all pro-Western parties support despite these shortcomings. She underscored that signing the Charter is "not just a signature" but a commitment to a specific course of action to restore Georgia's path toward the EU.
Elaborating on her vision of the Charter, President Zourabichvili stressed that after the elections, the four coalitions that signed the document must repeal all anti-democratic laws recently passed by the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, pardon those fined or detained for participating in protests, and work towards forming a short-term technocratic government. This government, potentially serving for one year, would reset the political system to ensure fair democratic competition.