"An inclusive process must be initiated to create the conditions for democratic elections, which should be announced in the coming months," said Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, a member of the Council of Europe, who, as a member of the Monitoring Committee, prepared a report on January 28 regarding the recognition or non-recognition of the Georgian delegation's mandates.

"Despite its pre-election promises, the ruling majority’s suspension of the EU accession process, the use of brutal force against demonstrators exercising their right to assembly, and the repression of the opposition and civil society have led to a deep social crisis and a lack of trust and legitimacy in political institutions in the country…

In a democratic society facing such a profound social crisis, where the social contract between the rulers and the public is broken, the appropriate response is to return the issue to the citizens through new democratic elections. However, it is clear that holding [new] elections under the same conditions as the previous ones, without addressing the significant shortcomings and violations documented in the Assembly's election observation report, will not lead to democratic elections nor resolve the social crisis.

Therefore, I have called on officials to immediately launch an inclusive process that involves all stakeholders, social actors, and civil society, to address these shortcomings and violations and to create an electoral environment that enables the holding of new democratic elections, which should be announced in the coming months," stated Kalniņa-Lukaševica.