Ombudsperson points to “dangerous trend” by ruling party MPs at hearings of public defender candidates

Public defender Nino Lomjaria said on Thursday that the ruling Georgian Dream party MPs “act with a single strategy” during hearings of ombudsperson candidates, adding that it was a “dangerous trend”. 

“I do not know if these were pre-written questions or not, but it appeared that the MPs of the ruling party are clearly acting with a single, homogeneous strategy,” Lomjaria said, and stated that her suspicious concerned the “deep-studying” of Facebook posts of the 19 candidates [by the ruling party MPs] who are running for the post, which will become vacant in December. 

“I do not know if they did it themselves or with the help of someone else, as  it takes a lot of time and resources. They have read every candidate’s public Facebook posts for the past 10 years, and maybe longer. It takes a lot of time to study… you have to read everything to see what you are looking for,” Lomjaria said.

“For me, it was not only a message and a demonstration of what they expect from the candidates, but also a message to all citizens, who  may look for jobs in the public service in the future, in the judicial system or elsewhere. This message is: ‘If you have decided to make a career in public service, you should not write posts critical of the government on Facebook. Because we control it and it will come before you”,  said the incumbent ombudswoman, who has been slammed many times by the GD. 

The hearings of the candidates for public defense are underway in the Parliament of Georgia.

Parliament should listen to 19 candidates for ombudsperson. The MPs have listened to seven candidates so far. 

The ruling party said in previous months that it conceded the right to nominate the public defender to the opposition, but stressed that they would not support a “politically biased nominee.” 

The approval of the new public defender needs the support of at least 90 MPs in the 150-member state legislature, which means that both the ruling party and the opposition must vote for a candidate.