TBILISI, DFWatch–Despite deepening polarization, this year’s Independence Day celebrations in Tbilisi passed without major disruptions. Commentators credited careful planning and the physical separation of events with avoiding incidents, as the country remains engulfed in a deep political crisis where opposition leaders still, 212 days after the election, and with 180 days of continuous rallies, refuse … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–As Georgia prepares for its Independence Day celebrations, official guests will be faced with a tricky question: Whose celebration to attend? The opposition’s or the government’s? Or both? Which event foreign dignitaries choose to attend could signal their stance on Georgia’s deepening political crisis. After 235 days of protests bolstered by Western governments, the … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–British journalist Will Neal, who has been a resident of Georgia since 2022, was denied re-entry into the country on May 20 after returning from a trip to the United Kingdom and the European Union. Neal was turned away at the Armenian-Georgian border without a clear explanation, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the U.S. will consider measures against anti-American governments, answering a question about Georgia. Opposition media celebrated Rubio’s comments, but the GD government downplayed them, stressing that Georgia was not explicitly mentioned. Rubio’s testimony in the U.S. Senate has fueled widespread speculation among Georgian analysts and political … Read more
The three lawsuits filed in the Constitutional Court of Georgia on the Law on “Transparency of Foreign Influence” will be combined into one proceeding, CCG Chairman Merab Turava said to the journalist on Monday, adding “I don’t think that I and my judges have any less European aspirations than you.” The President of Georgia, more … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–A woman from Moscow Oblast, who caused great anger among Vladimir Putin supporters by kicking out a Russian soldier fighting against Ukraine from her coffee shop, has moved to Tbilisi with only ‘two bags’, leaving behind a chain of coffee shops. “I love my home, but I think that it’s better for me to … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–The court of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” has sentenced a Georgian fighter Mamuka Gatserelia to life imprisonment for killing three Russian infantrymen, the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation states. The 22-year-old volunteer, whose parents reportedly originate from occupied Abkhazia, was found guilty under two articles of the Russian Criminal Code – Article … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch–After Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili returned to public politics in late December, everyone in Georgia expected major upheavals in the government, although only a small number of commentators predicted dismissal of the prime minister. However, this became clear on Sunday, when the pro-government TV company Imedi reported that the chairman of Georgian Dream … Read more
A poll commissioned by the US National Democratic Institute has once again shown the dire, and one might say catastrophic, situation faced by most political parties in Georgia a year before benchmark general elections. According to the release published by NDI on Monday, if parliamentary elections were to be held now, presumably only the ruling … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – The opposition party demands the establishment of a visa regime, a ban on the entry of cars with Russian license plates and other strict measures in order to prevent the “invasion of Russians in Georgia”. For this, the Lelo, political party founded by entrepreneur Mamuka Khazaradze, submitted Monday “Protect Georgia Act” to … Read more