Georgia’s state of the nation address

Georgian president accuses ruling GD of stalling democratic reforms

By | April 7th, 2017|Categories: Politics|Tags: , , |

TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili on Friday slammed the governing GD party for dragging its feet on the way to further democratic reforms and claimed there is a ‘crisis’ in the justice system. The president launched the broadside during […]

Topadze’s use of Down’s syndrome as term of abuse stuns parliament

By | February 4th, 2016|Categories: News|Tags: , , |

Gogi Topadze. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–A Georgian parliament member Wednesday used Down’s syndrome as a term of abuse. Gogi Topadze, previously known for his praise of Stalin a few months ago, claimed that the president in his national address compared the Georgian […]

Georgian president will hold annual address to parliament on February 3

By | February 2nd, 2016|Categories: Politics|Tags: , |

President Giorgi Margvelashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The president’s annual state of the nation address will be delivered at the opening of the spring session of parliament on February 3. Giorgi Kverenchkhiadze, who is parliamentary secretary for President Giorgi Margvelashvili, […]

Georgian government absent as president delivers annual speech

By | March 31st, 2015|Categories: News|Tags: , |

President Giorgi Margvelashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–When the Georgian president held his state of the nation speech in parliament on Tuesday, the government and the prime minister were absent – again. This is the second time the government has snubbed President Giorgi Margvelashvili. The same […]

President’s annual address will be on March 18

By | February 10th, 2015|Categories: In brief|Tags: |

President Giorgi Margvelashivli. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian president’s annual state of the nation address in parliament will be held on March 18. It is still an open question whether there will be a debate after President Giorgi Margvelashvili’s address. His parliamentary secretary Giorgi […]

National Movement might boycott president’s address

By | February 19th, 2014|Categories: News, Politics|Tags: , , , |

Member of Parliament Giorgi Vashadze said the National Movement are still discussing within the party what to ask Margvelashvili about. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The National Movement party’s members of parliament might not attend the Georgian president’s state of the nation address, which takes place in parliament in Kutaisi on February 21. UNM members say they have not yet made a decision about whether […]

Georgian president to hold annual address on February 21

By | February 15th, 2014|Categories: News, Politics|Tags: , |

President Giorgi Margvelashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–President Giorgi Margvelashvili will hold his first annual address to parliament on February 21. Outlining the content of his speech already on Friday, Margvelashvili announced he wants to focus on values and Georgia’s ‘strategic vectors’; […]

Georgian president’s annual address postponed

By | February 5th, 2014|Categories: In brief, News|Tags: , |

President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The Georgian president’s annual address will be held either on February 19 or February 21, the speaker of parliament says. According to the Constitution of Georgia, the president must once a year visit parliament to present a report about important […]

Margvelashvili promises different state of the nation address

By | February 2nd, 2014|Categories: News, Politics|Tags: |

President Giorgi Margvelashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DWatch–President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili will next week hold his first annual address to parliament. He says this year’s speech will have a completely new format, compared to earlier. The constitution says the president must hold a speech to parliament once a year. […]

Margvelashili planning his first annual address to parliament

By | January 27th, 2014|Categories: News, Politics|Tags: , |

President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–President Giorgi Margvelashvili is in consultations with the speaker of parliament about the date of his annual address to parliament. The Georgian constitution says that the president must visit parliament once a year and present a report about […]

Uncertainty over Saakashvili’s annual address to parliament

By | May 1st, 2013|Categories: News, Politics|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–Parliament is ready to listen to the president’s annual address to the nation, but the president may not show up. Pavle Kublashvili from President Saakashvili’s United National Movement party says that the annual address has not been scheduled. […]

Parliament waiting for Saakashvili to sign constitution

By | March 26th, 2013|Categories: Elections '12-'13, News|Tags: , |

Speaker of Parliament Davit Usupashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch–The governing coalition in Georgia says parliament will listen to President Mikheil Saakashvili’s annual address as soon as a set of recently passed constitutional amendments are signed into law and enforced. February 8, Saakashvili should have […]

Saakashvili demands to hold address to parliament

By | February 22nd, 2013|Categories: News, Politics|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch–President Mikheil Saakashvili demands that parliament allows him to use his constitutional right to address the nation from parliament. Thursday, the Georgian leader sent an open letter to MPs calling on them to follow the constitution, which obliges […]

Saakashvili calls on government for dialogue

By | February 10th, 2013|Categories: News|Tags: , |

President Mikheil Saakashvili invites Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and his team to a dialogue. (Photo: President’s press office.) Tbilisi, DF Watch–Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili welcomes a statement by Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili condemning Friday’s violence in front of the National Library and invites him to a new dialogue. Saakashvili said he welcomed ‘the fact that the Prime […]

Saakashvili argues for keeping parliament in Kutaisi

By | February 9th, 2013|Categories: Elections '12-'13, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch — Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili says his party supports constitution changes regarding limiting his powers, but doesn’t support the change which suggests moving parliament back to Tbilisi. In his speech held at the president’s residence […]

Saakashvili: I won’t be locked up in my palace

By | February 9th, 2013|Categories: Elections '12-'13, News|Tags: , |

TBILISI, DFWatch — After violent clashes caused him to change venue for the state of the nation address Friday, President Mikheil Saakashvili held his televised address from his residence. No one will be able to lock me up in this palace, the president said. He opened […]

Saakashvili to hold state of the nation address from library

By | February 8th, 2013|Categories: In brief, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch — Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili will address the nation from the National Library instead of from parliament. Saakashvili should have held his annual address on Friday, but the event was postponed by the ruling Georgian Dream coalition. […]

President’s annual address postponed

By | February 7th, 2013|Categories: In brief, News|Tags: |

Speaker of Parliament Davit Usupashvili. (Interpressnews.) TBILISI, DFWatch — The president’s annual speech to parliament is postponed indefinitely. This is a decision made by the ruling coalition. Speaker of Parliament Davit Usupashvili today said consultations had been held and a decision was made to not hold […]

Saakashvili to address parliament February 8

By | February 3rd, 2013|Categories: In brief, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch — President Mikheil Saakashvili’s annual address to parliament will take place on February 8, 2013. “As a result of consultations, a decision was made that the president’s annual speech, defined by the constitution, will take place at 14:00 Friday […]

How Georgia’s future leader should not be

By | March 7th, 2012|Categories: Opinion|Tags: , |

When George Washington held the first State of the Union address in the U.S. Congress, there was a debate about where the president should sit so that his official status wouldn’t be diminished, but at the same time wasn’t looking down on Congress, in order to visually […]

Refugees picketed Saakahsvili’s annual speech to parliament

By | March 1st, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: , |

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia’s president Mikheil Saakashvili was not only confronted with objections to his rule inside the parliament building Tuesday. On the outside, people had gathered, banging pots with spoons in protest against his eight years leading the former […]

Saakashvili’s state of the nation address: Main points

By | February 29th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – President Mikheil Saakashvili Tuesday February 28 gave his address to parliament and summarized the country’s situation as required by the Georgian Constitution. The leader grouped his political plans into five main points: Tackling unemployment, […]

Saakashvili recommends mud bath to opponent, leaves debate

By | February 29th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – There were tough exchanges in the Georgian parliament yesterday, with President Mikheil Saakashvili at one point leaving the room after recommending an opponent to take a therapeutic mud bath to get rid of his delusions. The situation became so heated that […]

Georgia hopes vocational training will remedy crisis

By | February 29th, 2012|Categories: In brief, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – From this year, Georgians who sign up with a private or vocational school for learning a new profession will receive a 1 000 lari voucher from the government. This was announced by President Mikheil Saakashvili during an annual speech to parliament […]

Saakashvili promises health insurance to large families

By | February 29th, 2012|Categories: In brief, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – The president in Georgia promises health insurance for all large families from 2013. Mikheil Saakashvili was making his annual address to parliament February 28. He noted that after establishing this system in Georgia, one out of two will be insured. […]

Saakashvili: Georgia’s election is a matter of national security

By | February 29th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – The president of the former Soviet republic of Georgia says this fall’s parliamentary election will be an important exam and says “conducting the freest elections which have ever been conducted is a question of national security.” Mikheil Saakashvili […]

Saakashvili: My force will govern for many years

By | February 29th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili says his political force ‘has the resources to govern for many years and will never refuse this.’ The statement came during an annual speech to parliament Tuesday. Giorgi Targamadze, leader of the Christian […]

Netherland to study Georgia’s health care system

By | February 29th, 2012|Categories: In brief, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili claims that the Netherlands wants to copy Georgia’s health care system. He said this during his annual speech to parliament on February 28. Speaking about the system implemented in Georgia, he said new hospitals […]

Saakashvili woos Russian business with visa-free travel

By | February 29th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia’s president, Mikheil Saakashvili, said Tuesday night that Georgia will lift visa requirements for all Russians. Saakashvili was holding his annual speech to parliament about the state of the nation. “I have an new initiative to unilaterally […]

Protest announced for Saakashvili’s address about country’s condition

By | February 28th, 2012|Categories: In brief, News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – When Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili comes to parliament this evening to make his speech about the state of the nation, groups and opposition parties will be demonstrating outside. The press office of the Free Georgia Party announced the […]

Waiting for Saakashvili’s state of the nation speech

By | February 28th, 2012|Categories: Opinion|Tags: , |

It’s already the fourth year that I am a member of parliament, and for the fourth time I have to listen to the Georgian president in the Georgian parliament; listen to his promises and views, in what in the constitution is called “report about the country’s […]

Saakashvili to hold state of the nation address Tuesday night

By | February 27th, 2012|Categories: News|Tags: |

TBILISI, DFWatch – The Georgian president will make his annual speech to parliament tomorrow, February 28, at 20:00. Speaker of Parliament Davit Bakradze announced this today at a bureau session. “The best air time was picked for the president’s visit and speech […]

Saakashvili to give state of the nation address next week

By | February 21st, 2012|Categories: In brief, News|Tags: , |

TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili will hold his annual state of the nation address in parliament’s next week. The exact date of his speech is not yet known. Georgian Speaker of Parliament Davit Bakradze said this at a parliamentary bureau session Monday. […]