The Georgian opposition should call off their threats of boycotting parliament and instead fight for change within the parliament, a senior US State Department official told the traveling press at a briefing Wednesday. “So to see them calling for a boycott again is like watching the same movie again. We’re encouraging them to go into … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–A few months ago, Georgia was commended for its success in containing Covid-19, but in the last few weeks the country has seen a record spread of the virus causing the disease. There are growing concerns that the health care system is failing to properly treat a large portion of those infected. This is … Read more
At least one person was injured during a brawl at the offices of the Georgian Football Federation Friday, during an opposition rally against the presence of high-ranking government officials at the UEFA Cup qualifier between Georgia and North Macedonia in Tbilisi. The match, which Georgia lost 0:1, was played without spectators due to Covid-19 restrictions, … Read more
Government and opposition representatives met for the first time Thursday evening at the residence of US Ambassador Kelly Degnan to look for solutions to the continuing political crisis in the country. The meeting lasted three hours and was attended by representatives of all major parties as well as the speaker of parliament. After it was … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Shots were fired outside the residence of Georgian Dream leader, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili on Friday, during a rally by the opposition party United National Movement and its allies to protest what they call “total rigging” of the October 31 parliamentary election. No-one was injured in the shooting. Opposition activists say that several bullets were … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Eight of the nine political parties which qualified for seats in Georgia’s new parliament declare the October 31 election fraudulent and demand a new election and the resignation of the head of the Central Election Commission. Eight of the parties which achieved more than one percent of votes – the threshold for getting into … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The ruling party holds a significant lead after Georgia’s general election, according to the Central Elections Commission, and will be able to form a new government without the need for a coalition. The opposition, meanwhile, refuses to accept the election results released by CEC, insisting they are falsisifed. Opposition politicians claim, based on an … Read more
A day before the general election, ten opposition parties signed an agreement not to form a coalition government with the Georgian Dream, a political party presided by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili which rules the country since 2012. The parties state that current government of Georgian Dream “Significantly weakened Georgia’s democratic institutions, with a one-man and uncontrolled … Read more
Three days ahead of Georgia’s general election, the government is trading barbs with the opposition with each side accusing each other of extreme measures, ranging from election rigging to staging a violent overthrow of the government. Minister of Defense Irakli Garibashvili, who has previously served as prime minister, went as far as saying that the … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–An ongoing police hunt in Georgia as so far failed to turn up a former soldier suspected of taking dozens of people hostage in a bank in Zugdidi, a town in west Georgia, and escaping with USD 500,000 of ransom money. Into the evening Monday, the police searched several houses belonging to the suspect’s … Read more