TBILISI, November 18 – Georgia’s ruling party has launched a plan to dissolve the state body known as the Administration of the Former South Ossetian Autonomous District, a structure created nearly two decades ago to represent ethnic Ossetians living under Georgian jurisdiction. A draft law introduced in parliament on Tuesday would abolish the administration from … Read more
TBILISI, November 17 – Protesters in Tbilisi have shifted tactics after weeks of standoffs with police on Rustaveli Avenue, moving their demonstrations off the roadway and into long evening marches along downtown sidewalks. The change follows days of pressure from police, who repeatedly blocked attempts to obstruct traffic and warned participants that repeat offences could … Read more
TBILISI, November 17 – The European Union has approved a major overhaul of its visa-free suspension rules, giving Brussels new powers to halt visa-free travel for citizens of third countries more quickly and for longer periods when EU interests are at risk. The European Council announced Monday that member states had given their final political … Read more
TBILISI, November 17 – Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party on Monday dismissed renewed opposition talk of forming a “technical government”, while former president Salome Zourabichvili accused the authorities of dragging the country toward isolation. The clash began when Georgian Dream MP Tengiz Sharmanashvili ridiculed opposition calls for a temporary, non-partisan cabinet to oversee a political … Read more
TBILISI, November 17 – Georgia’s ruling party has launched a full rewrite of the country’s election code in a move that could reshape how millions of citizens cast their votes. The biggest change would require Georgian voters living abroad to travel back to Georgia in order to vote in parliamentary elections. Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili … Read more
TBILISI, November 13 – Georgia’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili has been moved out of a private clinic and back into Rustavi prison in a late night transfer which caused political controversy. The penitentiary service and the Ministry of Health say Saakashvili no longer needs hospital care. Saakashvili, his lawyers, and his family insist that he … Read more
TBILISI, November 13 – A court in Georgia has ordered the pre-trial detention of former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia, escalating a political and legal drama that now spans two major criminal cases and a bitter war of words between the former leader and the ruling party. The ruling came Thursday in Tbilisi City Court. Judge … Read more
TBILISI, November 13 – As Georgia’s ruling party insists that no genuine protest movement exists in the country, claiming only small foreign-funded groups gather on Rustaveli Avenue each evening, analysts and opposition figures are debating whether the public mood could soon shift toward wider unrest. Over a year has passed sine a disputed election triggered … Read more
TBILISI, November 13 – Tbilisi city authorities have torn down illegal buildings in the capital’s Samgori district, freeing up more than 14 hectares of occupied public property. According to the city government, the municipal inspection carried out coordinated enforcement actions aimed at stopping unauthorized construction and preventing further illegal use of state and municipal land. … Read more
TBILISI, November 11 – Georgia’s jailed opposition activist and opera singer Paata Burchuladze has accused former president Salome Zourabichvili of making a “shameful” statement about the October 4 events in Tbilisi, which she described as a Russian special operation. Speaking through his lawyer, Burchuladze said Zourabichvili should have exercised restraint and avoided making comments that … Read more