Two Georgian opposition parties form election partnership
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Two Georgian opposition parties, 'For Georgia' and 'Lelo – Strong Georgia', have decided to join forces ahead of the country’s October 4 local elections. The two parties signed what they called a memorandum of cooperation, aiming to agree on "a non-partisan neutral candidate for mayor" and align on either majoritarian or joint party-list runs. This appears to be the first concrete outcome of [...]
EU threatens to suspend visa-free entry rights for Georgian citizens
Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief. TBILISI, DFWatch--The European Union has issued its starkest warning yet to Tbilisi: fulfill key democratic conditions or face suspension of visa-free travel. The ultimatum, delivered by EU foreign policy [...]
News
Former Adjara leader’s shooting still a mystery
TBILISI, DFWatch--A growing wave of speculation is surrounding the case of Tornike Rizhvadze, the former head of government in Georgia’s Adjara region, who is currently recovering in a Turkish hospital after suffering a gunshot wound [...]
‘We don’t see a tourism boom’ – Georgia’s hotel and restaurant owners question 7% growth claim
TBILISI, DFWatch--Georgia is experiencing a record-breaking year in tourism, according to the government, but some among the industry are wondering why they are not seeing the same trend. With over 2.3 million international tourist visits [...]
Outgoing U.S. Ambassador says Georgia’s GD government sent Washington ‘threatening’ letter
Robin Dunnigan. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--US Ambassador Robin Dunnigan, who recently announced her retirement, said the tone of a private letter sent to Washington by Georgian Dream leadership was "threatening, insulting, and unserious," and that it [...]
Georgian parliament speaker accuses EU-funded groups of undermining elections
TBILISI, DFWatch--The Speaker of Georgia’s Parliament has accused European Union-funded organizations of preparing to disrupt the country’s upcoming local elections. Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said Tuesday that"organizations funded by the EU embassy are preparing to [...]
Questions swirl after former Adjara leader shot in the chest
Levan Ratiani, director of the First University Clinic in Tbilisi. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--The former head of the government of Georgia’s autonomous Adjara region remains in a serious but stable condition after being hospitalized with a [...]
Low-income families hurt most by rising inflation in Georgia
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--After months of stable prices, inflation in Georgia is once again on the rise, with food costs driving the sharpest increases. The national inflation rate reached 4% year-on-year in June, up from near-zero [...]
Two opposition parties decide to participate in Georgia’s upcoming elections, triggering resignations
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--Tensions are escalating within Georgia’s opposition as two parties declared they will participate in the upcoming local elections on October 4. The decision by the parties For Georgia, led by former Prime Minister [...]
Former Adjara leader in critical condition after gunshot wound
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--The former head of Georgia’s Adjara regional government, Tornike Rizhvadze, remains in critical condition after suffering a gunshot wound to the chest in what may have been a suicide attempt. Rizhvadze was first [...]
Georgia’s president offers pardon to opposition leaders if they play along
(Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch--The opposition party "Lelo for Strong Georgia" has announced its decision to participate in the October 4 local elections, splitting from a bloc of parties calling for an electoral boycott. The announcement came [...]
Georgia: How to Be Rational and Coherent in That Disbalanced World? – A Conversation with Professor Neil Macfarlane
Tedo Japaridze I acquainted with Neil Macfarlane since the last century: it was 1990 when we met each other for the first time at some round table held by the Georgian MFA to discuss the [...]
Europe and Georgia
EU threatens to suspend visa-free entry rights for Georgian citizens
Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief. TBILISI, DFWatch--The European Union has issued its starkest warning yet to Tbilisi: fulfill key democratic conditions or face suspension of [...]
Opinion
Minorities
Georgian Dream is preparing a bill against “ideology of pseudo-liberals” and “wilful propaganda of non-traditional lifestyle”
TBILISI, DFWatch--Georgian Dream is in the process of preparing a legislative initiative to "protect society from pseudo-liberal ideology" and its inevitable harmful consequences." The country may face such a situation when "we will be asked [...]
NGO News
Georgian NGOs, media snub foreign agent law, suspend cooperation with government
Tbilisi, DFWatch-Over a hundred non-governmental and media organizations declare their open disobedience to the foreign influence draft law initiated by the Georgian authorities and suspend all cooperation with the government [...]
GD and far-right Conservative Movement lead: TI report on party donations
The Conservative Movement, a far-right pro-Russian political party notorious for violence against LGBTQ activists and journalists, was second only to the ruling Georgian Dream in the last quarter of 2022 [...]
Civic groups in Georgia campaign to help Ukrainian refugees left out in the street
(Razom.ge) Georgian civic groups and activists have launched a fundraising campaign to provide temporary housing for Ukrainian refugees who were left out in the street after the end of state [...]