DFWatch staff 
TBILISI, DFWatch–The opposition in breakaway Abkhazia ended their rally in front of parliament building in Sokhumi on Tuesday, after reaching a compromise with de facto authorities. The sides have agreed to postpone the presidential elections to August 26. The de facto parliament earlier decided to hold elections in July, while the opposition had demanded to … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The opposition in Abkhazia rallied in front of the parliament building in Sokhumi Tuesday for the second day, vowing not to stop it until parliament postpones the presidential elections until fall due to the suspected poisoning of their leader. Overnight, opposition activists temporarily blocked the central highway at two locations north and south of … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The ruling Georgian Dream party is leading in all of Sunday’s by-elections, including the symbolically important Zugdidi mayoral race. But the vote was marred by numerous controversies, as the opposition claims the elections have been massively rigged. Sandra Roelofs, the wife of Georgia’s ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili and a candidate for Zugdidi mayor, even says … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Tensions are running high in Georgia ahead of the May 19 by-election in Zugdidi, a town about 350km west of Tbilisi, with almost daily scuffles outside the office of the Local Election Commission. Both the governing party and the opposition accuse each other of attempting to rig the election to replace the former mayor, … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–A satirical bust of Georgia’s interior minister was placed in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi on Sunday, on the anniversary of the controversial police raids of two nightclubs. The statue’s pedestal was equipped with a red button, which if pressed made a voice say: “Let’s start with an apology.” This is a … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia’s counter-intelligence service SUS on Tuesday warned the organizers of a May 9 rally to commemorate Soviet victory in World War 2 that they may not use Communist symbols. Such symbols are prohibited by a law Georgia introduced eight years ago called the Freedom Charter. But the organizers of the rally “Immortal Regiment” still … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The director of Georgia main opposition TV company said Monday that the government has launched a new attack against it, and claimed the goal is to kill its editorial policy. Rustavi 2 director Nika Gvaramia also accused billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili of personal involvement in a new lawsuit filed by one of the company’s shareholders, … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The number of visitors from Russia to Georgia has skyrocketed, triggering several kilometer long lines at Zemo Larsi border crossing. Most of the queue is on the Russian side, where at least 600 cars were standing still Saturday, waiting to enter Georgia from North Ossetia – Alania; one of the constituent republics of the … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian weightlifter Tatia Lortkipanidze is suing the coach of the national team for sexual harassment. Lortkipanidze, who won a bronze medal in the 2018 European Championship, is also suing the weightlifting federation for discrimination, she said at a press conference on Thursday. At the press conference, she accused the federation of discrimination by taking her out … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The president of Georgia has become a target of criticism after re-tweeting Donald Trump’s viral tweet in which he derides his possible opponent in the 2020 presidential elections, former Vice President Joe Biden, calling him “sleepy Joe”. President Salome Zurabishvili’s administration had to hold an urgent press conference in which her spokeswoman flatly denied … Read more