Abkhazia’s supreme court rejects opposition lawsuit, Khajimba re-elected
TBILISI, DFWatch--The Supreme Court in Abkhazia on Friday rejected a lawsuit filed by presidential candidate Alhaz Kvitsinia, seeking to annul the results of the runoff elections and call a new election. Although Kvitsinia's team will appeal the ruling, it is already clear that Kremlin-backed Raul Khajimba, a former KGB operative, has won the election. In the second round, he received 47.39% of the vote, while [...]
Opposition in Abkhazia demands de facto election result canceled
Opposition candidate Alhaz Kvitsinia. TBILISI, DFWatch--The opposition in Abkhazia is planning a rally in Sokhumi on Tuesday, which will be held in parallel with a court hearing in a lawsuit filed by the [...]
News
Embattled Georgian banker prepares to step into politics
Mamuka Khazaradze. (IPN.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Georgia’s embattled banker Mamuka Khazaradze is expected to launch a new opposition party on Thursday. The event will take place in Anaklia, a resort on the Black Sea coast [...]
Growing tensions in Abkhazia as opposition refuses to accept narrow win for incumbent
Raul Khajimba won by 47.4% to 46.2%, according to preliminary results. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Tensions are growing in Abkhazia after the runoff in the breakaway republic’s presidential elections, as the opposition refuses to accept [...]
Georgian parliamentarian swamped by protesters calling him a “Russian slave”
Member of Parliament Emzar Kvitsiani was seen physically assaulting several protesters after they called him a "Russian slave". (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--A brawl broke out at the parliament building in Tbilisi Sunday, after anti-government [...]
Kelly Degnan nominated as next US Ambassador to Georgia
Kelly Degnan. (it.usembassy.gov) President Donald Trump nominates Kelly C. Degnan of California to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Georgia, who currently serves as the Political Advisor to the Commander of United States [...]
Georgian PM steps down, declaring “mission accomplished”
Mamuka Bakhtadze announced his resignation on Facebook, stating that his mission has been accomplished. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Georgia’s Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze resigned Monday, stating that mission is accomplished. Announcing his resignation on Facebook, [...]
Georgia’s prime minister reportedly resigns
PM Mamuka Bakhtadze (center) and Minister of Interior Giorgi Gakharia (right). (1tv.ge.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze will be replaced by incumbent Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Gakharia several Georgian media outlets reported [...]
After ultimatum was not fulfilled by Georgia, Tskhinvali softened its tone
The Georgian checkpoint between the villages of Chorchana and Tsnelisi. (IPN). TBILISI, DFWatch--South Ossetia's ultimatum to Georgia to remove a checkpoint was not fulfilled, but the deadline passed without incident Friday. Another meeting [...]
South Ossetia issues ultimatum to Georgia to remove checkpoint
Ossetian forces at the administrative boundary line. (Sputnik-Ossetia.) TBILISI, DFWatch--The situation along the de facto border of South Ossetia further worsened on Thursday after representative of breakaway authorities put forward an ultimatum to [...]
South Ossetia sends extra forces to demarcation line as Georgia builds new checkpoint
South Ossetia sent additional forces to "ensure the safety citizens". (Sputnik-Ossetia.) TBILISI, DFWatch--The situation along the de facto border of South Ossetia remains tense as Tskhinvali sent armed forces to prevent the construction [...]
Russia’s military superiority is visible but its status in Georgia continues to erode: Robert Hamilton
Robert Hamilton. (VoA) Voice of America’s Georgian Service’s Anna Kalandadze talked to Robert Hamilton, Professor of Eurasian Studies at the US Army War College in Washington about trending topics in current-day Georgia. VoA: [...]
Europe and Georgia
PACE to discuss dismissing its president in October
PACE President Pedro Agramunt. (Council of Europe.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will discuss a proposal to dismiss its chairperson in early October after a motion was tabled on Friday. The motion to dismiss PACE President Pedro Agramunt was backed by 158 out of the 636 member […]
Opinion
Minorities
Groups say 25-year old’s fatal stabbing in Tbilisi was motivated by xenophobia
Vitali Safarov (Facebook). TBILISI, DFWatch--A young human rights activist who was stabbed to death in Tbilisi nearly two weeks ago was murdered by members of a neo-Nazi group, Georgian civic activists say. Vitali [...]
NGO News
Independent lawyers in Georgia urge parliament to condemn “clan-based” governance in judiciary
High Council of Justice. (hcoj.gov.ge) A group of independent lawyers and legal experts has submitted a draft resolution in the parliament of Georgia in which they ask for [...]
Georgian civic groups suspect government is behind smear campaign on Facebook
Eka Gigauri. (Facebook.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Georgia's largest NGOs suspect that the government is masterminding a smear campaign against them using internet trolls. "These dull caricatures with their Facebook pages [...]
NGO coalition in Georgia proposes new procedure for selecting chief prosecutor
DFWatch Editor-in-Chief Lasha Tughushi is one of the authors of the bill. Behind him, co-author Natia Kuprashvili. TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s largest NGO coalition proposes an overhaul of the existing system for selecting a chief prosecutor in order to minimize the risk that one party takes the decision unilaterally. The proposed bill comes in the wake of a two-week-long series of rallies in Tbilisi […]