TBILISI, September 4 – Opera singer Paata Burchuladze is calling for what he describes as a “national assembly” on October 4. The opera singer-turned-political activist who now leads the “Rustaveli Avenue” movement says two million invitations have already been printed and will be handed out across the country. Each invitation will double as a mandate … Read more
TBILISI, September 1 – Two of Georgia’s opposition parties stepped up their campaigning efforts Monday, accusing the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) government of neglecting basic needs in the capital while spending lavishly on prestige projects. At a rally in Mtatsminda district, Aleko Elisashvili, running for deputy mayor for the joint ticket of Lelo and For … Read more
TBILISI, August 31 – Irakli Kupradze, a candidate for mayor of Tbilisi, has been meeting residents in the city’s Samgori and Varketili districts. His campaign team, backed by two pro-EU opposition parties, said he was out meeting people in order to listen directly to their everyday problems. Kupradze pledged that, if elected, addressing these local … Read more
TBILISI, August 27 – Another candidate has joined the race for becoming mayor of the capital. Iago Khvichia, leader of the libertarian-leaning party Girchi, was nominated on August 26 following party primaries. He will compete against incumbent mayor Kakha Kaladze of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD), opposition-backed joint candidate Irakli Kupradze, and Zurab Makharadze from … Read more
TBILISI, August 27 – With local elections a little over a month away, Georgia’s public defender, Levan Ioseliani, has called on political parties and politicians to avoid hate speech. He warned that both insults and slander are creeping into the campaign, though he did not cite specific cases, saying he will make an assessment closer … Read more
TBILISI, August 22 – Georgia’s upcoming local elections on October 4 may unfold with little outside oversight as OSCE is unlikely to deploy full team of observers this year. The governing Georgian Dream (GD) party has said it is “indifferent” as to whether the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is invited, breaking … Read more
TBILISI, August 11 – Georgia’s Justice Ministry has launched a limited-time campaign to make electronic ID cards cheaper for certain groups of citizens. The offer started today and runs until September 5. The idea is to encourage more people to get the cards in order to ensure voters lists are up to date ahead of … Read more
TBILISI, August 9 – Georgia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has assigned numbers to political parties for the upcoming 4 October municipal elections. This year, 17 political groups registered to run. Five kept their existing numbers under rules allowing certain parties to retain them if they met deadlines and eligibility requirements. The rest drew new numbers … Read more
TBILISI, August 8 – With local elections coming up on October 4, Merab Sepashvili, a well-known Georgian singer, is reportedly being considered as a candidate for Tbilisi mayor, as a challenger to incumbent Kakha Kaladze. Sepashvili’s possible candidacy is being mentioned among the ranks of the opposition party Lelo. Party insiders say they’re still conducting … Read more
TBILISI, August 8 – While almost all opposition parties intend to boycott the upcoming local elections, the ruling Georgian Dream party Thursday kicked off its campaign in the capital with a full slate of candidates and a message of continued progress. At a launch event at its newly opened party headquarters in Krtsanisi, south in … Read more