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 18 – A senior Georgian Dream lawmaker has claimed that Georgian youth are being trained abroad, with alleged backing from the UK, to prepare for violent protests ahead of the country’s October 4 local elections. Irakli Zarkua, chair of parliament’s diaspora committee, told reporters that young activists were being coached in Lithuania, allegedly … Read more
TBILISI, August 18 – Georgia is preparing for nationwide local elections on October 4, but the gap between the government and much of the opposition has rarely looked wider. The Central Election Commission (CEC) says more than 24,000 people applied this month to work in polling stations, with 9,117 vying for leadership roles and over … Read more
TBILISI, August 17 – Campaigning in the western town of Kharagauli, Lelo spokesman Grigol Gegelia slammed Georgian Dream’s local officials for wasting public money on what he called “fake jobs.” He pointed to a local cleaning program where more than USD 900,000 went to salaries last year, claiming many of the positions were artificially created … Read more
TBILISI, August 15 – Two of Georgia’s opposition forces – Lelo for Strong Georgia and For Georgia, the party of former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia – have yet to agree on a joint candidate for Tbilisi’s October 4 mayoral election. A recent meeting between Gakharia and Lelo’s secretary general Irakli Kupradze in Berlin has fueled … Read more
TBILISI, August 13 – Georgia’s far right Alt Info movement, running under the name Conservatives for Georgia, has nominated Zurab Makharadze to challenge incumbent mayor Kakha Kaladze in Tbilisi. The Central Election Commission assigned the party ballot slot No. 3, and Alt Info says it will also compete for city council seats in the capital … Read more
TBILISI, August 13 – In Georgia, the opposition United National Movement (UNM), currently boycotting parliament, is openly discussing a “peaceful revolution” to change power on October 4. Party leader Levan Khabeishvili even launched a Facebook poll asking supporters if they would attend a planned rally. Around 4,700 people responded, with 92% saying yes. UNM chair … Read more
TBILISI, August 12 – Georgia’s upcoming local elections, scheduled for October 4, are shaping up to be a contest between the ruling Georgian Dream party and a fragmented opposition. Seventeen parties are registered to compete, though analysts are divided on whether the vote will be truly competitive, according to Rezonansi. Supporters of the government point … 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