Category: Elections - Page 19

Ivanishvili names Irakli Alasania as candidate for Samegrelo

August 15, 2012 by Rusiko Machaidze

TBILISI, DFWatch – Bidzina Ivanishvili, the Georgian president’s main competitor, plans to win in the western Samegrelo region by having the country’s former UN ambassador run there. The region borders on Russian controlled Abkhazia and is that part of the country where Mikheil Saakashvili’s government has the largest influence. Bidzina Ivanishvili named Irakli Alasania as … Read more

Georgian opposition asks world to react to election violations

August 15, 2012 by DFWatch staff

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgian Dream, the strongest competitor to the party of Presidential Mikheil Saakashvili, calls on foreign diplomats and international organizations in Tbilisi to react ‘correctly and adequately’ regarding ongoing political processes in Georgia.

Read more

Plan for Georgian election observers still pending

August 13, 2012 by DFWatch staff

TBILISI, DFWatch – It is still unknown when international observers will start monitoring the election in Georgia.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 1, but long-term observsers have not yet arrived in the country.

Local rights groups have for months

3.6 million voters will decide election in Georgia

August 7, 2012 by DFWatch staff

TBILISI, DFWatch – There are 3 621 256 voters in Georgia, according to Central Election Commission’s (CEC) preliminary data, which was published today.

According to the CEC, there are 84 election districts in the country. The majority of voters,155 502, are from

Who is to blame for election violence in Georgia?

August 6, 2012 by DFWatch staff

TBILISI, DFWatch – In Georgia, the government’s main competitor, Georgian Dream, claims that they support fair and free elections and accuses the government of attempting to provoke civil confrontation.

Georgian Dream released this statement on Monday as a response

U.N. Envoy criticizes Georgia for not respecting human rights

February 14, 2012 by DFWatch staff

TBILISI, DFWatch – A United Nations envoy says the new party finance rules Georgia introduced in December are a violation of human rights.

Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai says that ‘they at times use ambiguous language, are fuelling an overall climate of distrust, and

Georgia increases subsidy for political ads

January 30, 2012 by Rusiko Machaidze

TBILISI, DFWatch – The government in Georgia increases the state funding of political TV ads to create a more level playing field for this year’s election. But analysts say it’s not enough. An extra 2.2 million laris, or nearly 1.3 million US dollars, will be set aside in the state budget for subsidized political advertisements. … Read more

Opposition must return tycoon’s gifts

December 28, 2011 by DFWatch staff

TBILISI, DFWatch – The political partners of the Georgian tycoon turned opposition leader will have to return the money they received from him. Otherwise, they must give it to the state. This is the consequence of a new bill approved by parliament on Wednesday at the third and last hearing. The final version of the … Read more

Access to media crucial in 2012 election

December 28, 2011 by Rusiko Machaidze

TBILISI, DFWatch – As a bundle of election related bills are up for final review in parliament, it became clear Tuesday that the ruling party is against a proposal prepared by media workers about how to conduct monitoring of media fairness during the election campaign. The proposal concerns changes to the Election Code and the … Read more

NGOs warn: unfair election system

December 28, 2011 by DFWatch staff

TBILISI, DFWatch – Tuesday Georgia’s new election system should have been passed in parliament, but the package of bills was stopped in the last minute by a group of rights activists, who warned of potential problems. The groups are sounding the alarm that the new election system does not create a level playing field. Several … Read more