TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgians are discussing how to read the first polls done after a popular businessman decided to join politics. The polls differ drastically, which has lead many to distrust the results. According to one of them, 26.1% of the Georgian population want the newcomer Bidzina Ivanishvili as Prime Minister from 2013. 24.2% of … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – Six cars and a bus were shot at in Tskhinvali last night, according to the news agency Pirveli. The cars were on the capital’s central square, where supporters of presidential candidate Alla Dzhioyeva have been holding out since November 30 to claim victory in the election, which was annulled the previous day. … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – A court case which could decide the future of Georgia has been postponed due to a judge’s illness. Georgian billionaire and opposition politician Bidzina Ivanishvili was told Thursday that his and his wife’s appeal about their revoked citizenship has been postponed until December 12, because the judge is ill. The final ruling in … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – Vice speaker of parliament in Georgia’s breakaway region South Ossetia says the current president Eduard Kokoity must resign and the region should be headed by the so-called Prime Minister Vadim Brovtsev. “As the term of president Kokoity has expired, he can no longer perform his duties as president. He should resign, and … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – The prison ministry in Georgia says about a prisoner with kidney problems who was beaten before and after his operation, that ‘the patient’s health condition is satisfactory’. In a rare exception, the ministry Wednesday publicly made comments to a case about suspected prisoner abuse. The statement was their first comment about the … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgians might elect political newcomer Bidzina Ivanishvili if given the option, but the first polls after he launched his campaign differ significantly. Two polls disagree over newcomer Bidzina Ivanishvili’s chances in the presidential competition. One shows him second, another shows he will trounce the ruling party’s most likely candidate 32 to 13 … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – An opposition parliamentarian claims that the government of Georgia is involved in a scheme to force a billionaire businessman and political newcomer’s bank into bankrupcy. The scheme, as Giorgi Tsagareishvili describes it, involves a combination of legislative changes and a large loan from the businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Cartu Bank made with security … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – Alexander Ankvab, the newly elected leader of Georgia’s breakaway region Abkhazia, says that it’s necessary to establish customs control on the Abkhaz side of the border with Georgia, Russian news agencies report. “It’s no secret that in the stores and markets a lot of fruits and vegetables and consumer goods are entering … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – Alla Dzhioyeva, the candidate who apparantly won the so-called presidential elections in Georgia’s breakaway region South Ossetia, said today that she does not yet intend to seek political asylum. The comment came after Russian diplomats pointed out that her statement about seeking political asytlum in Russia is meaningless as she is a … Read more
TBILISI, DFWatch – Two opposition blocs exchanged obscenities in parliament Tuesday over what to do about a controversial bill to increase the number of members of parliament (MPs). Georgia’s parliamentary majority is ready to reconsider the decision to increasing the number of MPs. This was decided Tuesday after a verbal confrontation with the opposition in … Read more