The Public Defender of Georgia, Nino Lomjaria, completed her term as an Ombudsman. As Lomjaria said at the press conference, one of the main achievements of her 5-year work is that the Office of the Public Defender plays an important role in the development of the country, and the Office of the Ombudsman has unprecedented recognition from the international community.

According to her, now the European Union structures will pay a lot of attention to who will be elected by the Parliament for the post of Public Defender.

"Today, my 5-year term as a Public Defender ended. I think it is a very important moment for the country. Our country was given a unique opportunity to become a member of the European Union, to receive the status of a candidate country. I think that the most important issue for the country today and in the coming months is the fulfillment of the 12 points that the European Union has issued for the country. I believe that one of the main achievements of the Office of the Public Defender in this position is that the Office plays a very important role in the development of the country. There was an unprecedented recognition from the international community, and in the future, the Office of the Public Defender will play an important role in the path of European integration. The proof of this is the recognition of the Public Defender's office by the EU institutions as an independent institution, and it is also important that the Public Defender's positioning and assessment are of great importance. Today, one of the important issues is who the Parliament will choose for this post, since this will be one of the decisive and important issues in the 12 recommendations, it will receive a lot of attention, since, from the EU's point of view, this is an issue that only requires the expression of political will on the part of the government. Therefore, I have great hope that this institution will maintain its independence and the candidate will be selected for which there will be the maximum consensus among the political spectrum," said Lomjaria.

For information, Nino Lomjaria was the Public Defender of Georgia for five years. She was elected by the Parliament on November 30, 2017 with 96 votes to 5. 19 persons proposed their candidacy to the Parliament for the election of the new Public Defender. Their committee hearings in the Parliament have already ended. Consultations between the parliamentary parties for the purpose of agreeing on the candidate for Public Defender continue until now.