TBILISI, September 24 – One of Georgia’s oldest and most trusted legal watchdogs says it won’t monitor this year’s local elections, marking the first time in its 31-year history it has refused to do so. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) announced Wednesday it will not dispatch observers to monitor the October 4 municipal elections, … Read more
TBILISI, September 23 – Georgia has started printing ballots for its upcoming local elections, scheduled for October 4. The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced that a total of 3,897,500 ballots are being printed at four printing houses in Tbilisi. Observers from election monitoring organizations are also present to oversee the printing of voting papers. Inspecting … Read more
TBILISI, September 22 – The opposition Lelo party says it will deploy cameras at every voting precinct in Tbilisi so that no one can vote at a station where they are not registered. The party’s mayoral candidate, Irakli Kupradze, said they expect the October 4 vote will not be fair and vowed to “fight on … Read more
TBILISI, September 18 – As Georgia heads toward local elections, in 25 municipalities across the country, only the ruling Georgian Dream party has put forward mayoral candidates, according to official data released by the Central Election Commission (CEC). The country has 74 election districts outside the capital Tbilisi, meaning one-third of races will be uncontested. … Read more
TBILISI, September 18 – Georgian opposition leaders are turning to Europe for support ahead of the country’s heated municipal elections. On Thursday, Mamuka Khazaradze, chairman of the Lelo coalition, and joint opposition mayoral candidate Irakli Kupradze met with Brussels Mayor Philippe Close in the Belgian capital. They were joined by their campaign chief, Tazo Datunashvili. … Read more
TBILISI, September 18 – The opposition in Georgia are divided ahead of the October 4 local elections, a day some groups have called for using to stage a “peaceful revolution,” while other disagree. Former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia, now leader of the For Georgia party, dismissed the plan as an illusion and “the biggest mistake.” … Read more
TBILISI, September 17 – A group of activists in Georgia say they are preparing for what they call a “peaceful revolution” on October 4, vowing to announce a caretaker government and declare power transferred by 8 pm the same night. The organizers, who have branded the rally a “national congress,” claim they expect between 200,000 … Read more
TBILISI, September 16 – Despite international criticism, Georgia’s government is signaling a tougher stance on street protests, with Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze warning that the era of going “soft” on demonstrators is over. The PM’s remarks came after the arrest of Elene Khoshtaria, a leader of the opposition group Coalition for Change, who was detained … Read more
TBILISI, September 14 – Georgia’s opposition parties gathered in Tbilisi on September 13 for a rally that passed peacefully, drawing between several hundred and up to 3,000 people, according to different estimates. The demonstration, which started at Tbilisi State University and ended in front of parliament on Rustaveli Avenue, was joined by ex-President Salome Zurabishvili, … Read more
TBILISI, September 10 – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has informed Georgia that it will not be able to send observers to the upcoming local elections scheduled for October 4, due to the short notice. The director of the organization’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Maria Telalian, explained … Read more