Early elections will set a bad precedent, but government must release prisoners

"Early elections will be a bad precedent, but the government must release the prisoners" said in an interview with "Voice of America" the former director of the "National Democratic Institute" in Georgia.

According to Laura Thornton, the government should take the first step before the opposition compromises, which means the release of Nika Melia and Giorgi Rurua. In her estimation, the situation looks like the negotiations are not working.

"Georgian Dream is the ruling party and, of course, they must take the first step. This could be the release of Nika Melia and Giorgi Rurua. Then the opposition must agree to something and this is how the first steps should be taken. This method may also fail, with the ruling party in particular saying they are not worried about the EU threatening to suspend financial aid. I would not want the case to get to this point and the EU and the US to start cutting off aid. But they do have the means to do so. I would spend the time and effort to transform the institutions to make the fundamental changes, and I would hold the elections as planned.
"Georgian Dream" really wants the opposition to enter the parliament. Therefore, the government should be the first to take a step, it may be the release of prisoners, the appointment of the General Prosecutor or appointment of the CEC chairperson by 2/3. The government must do something in return to get the opposition back into parliament," she said.

According to Laura Thornton, America and the EU still have leverage, including in the form of financial sanctions.