Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili said during a special briefing on February 2 that the Georgian Dream party has started its campaign in the pre-election period of the 2018 Presidential Elections by using Black PR against him.
“Everyday we see the unsuccessful initiatives of Black PR, which in my opinion is connected to the political team, which for the last four years has battling the President’s institution and has been trying to deconstruct it.”
President Margvelashvili also suggested that the Georgian Dream doesn’t yet have a consolidated opinion about who will be their presidential candidate in the elections.
“Part of the team formed the position that Black PR against current the President is needed. Such absurd waves existed in the past and I’m sure they will also exist in the future. To be honest, I don’t take this black PR seriously. The Georgian Dream started its pre-election campaign by my black PR. I don’t see any other content in their current pre-election campaign,” Margvelashvili said.
The special briefing also addressed issues of Georgia’s drug policies. President Margvelashvili said that he plans to alter and humanize the process of the Presidential pardon for those convicted for non-violent crimes, such as drug-related or economic crimes. The decision was announced as well by the head of Presidential pardon commission, Zviad Koridze.
At the special briefing, President Margvelashvili said it will not cover cases of drug dealers drug trafficking from other countries.
Koridze said that during his term as the Head of Pardon Commission, President Margvelashvili has pardoned 3,671 inmates.
“Among them, 3,438 were pardoned on the basis of the Pardon Commission’s recommendations. 2,384 inmates have been released from detention facilities, while 1,054 have received various forms of commutations. The President has pardoned only 233 persons using his direct discretion,” explained Koridze at a press conference.
Koridze notes that former President Mikheil Saakashvili pardoned 34,947 inmates during his term: "Among 34,947, 3,077 have been pardoned on the basis of the Commission’s recommendations, while 8,950 using his direct discretion. 22,920 inmates have received various forms of commutations and were discharged from crimes. President Saakashvili made this decision at the end of his presidency. Aside from these cases, he has also pardoned 12,027 inmates.”