TBILISI, DFWatch – An unprecedented 61 000 local observers will follow tomorrow’s parliamentary election, head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) says. There are more than 33 000 representatives of election subjects and representatives of political parties in […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – One of the leaders of the opposition Christian Democrats party today withdrew her candidacy as majoritarian candidate for parliament. Inga Grigolia, a well-known former journalist, is now a member of the Christian Democrats, which is considered by […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has established many prohibitions on the use of photographic equipment at election precincts, which in fact restricts and makes it impossible to take photos on Election Day. Use of photos may document […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia’s Central Election Commission says 54 963 Georgians abroad have registered to vote at their country’s embassy. The list doesn’t contain citizens who live in Russia or in countries where there are less than 20 Georgians living. 42 613 out of […]
TBILISI DFWatch – The Foreign Affairs Minister of Estonia says every political party in Georgia should recognize the results of the upcoming election as an expression of the will of the people. Urmas Paet, Estonia’s minister is visiting Georgia to hold meetings with […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – The foreign affair ministers of five countries will visit Georgia September 17. Nino Kalandadze, Georgia’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, said on Monday that the foreign ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Latvia and Lithuania will […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – The Central Election Commission (CEC) has given Georgians abroad two more days to register as a voter. The deadline for registering is September 11. But Eka Azarashvili, speaker for CEC said, said at a press conference Monday that Georgians […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – In most cities in Georgia, almost all billboards, minibuses and buses are covered by commercials for the National Movement party. Other parties lack the money for such commercials, besides, the ruling party has already booked all available ad […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – The opposition Georgian Dream party accuses government of attempting to legally falsify the parliamentary election. One of the coalition’s lawyers Zakaria Kutsnashvili said Thursday that the amended election code regulates the issue of voters […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – In the top twenty on the National Movement’s party list there are majoritarian candidates. The majority on the list are current members of parliament (MPs) and members of government. On the ruling party list there also are so-called independent […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – The government refuses to accept conditions which the largest opposition coalition says are necessary in order for the October 1 parliamentary election to be considered fair. Bidzina Ivanishvili, leader of the Georgian Dream coalition on Thursday […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Bidzina Ivanishvili, leader of the largest opposition bloc in Georgia, promises that he will defend people’s vote solely by peaceful means and not call for a confrontation. But he also says that there are several measures that need to be taken […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Eleven party lists and coalitions have agreed to election campaign financing. Central Election Commission informs that Freedom to Way of Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Georgian Dasi, Free Georgia, New Rights Party, Christian Democrats, People’s […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – The government in Georgia claims the OSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly is spreading incorrect information provided by lobbyists of a certain party. A delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) on Thursday released a statement […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – A delegation from the OSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) which is in Georgia to observe the election says Georgia’s law enforcement bodies lack objectivity. The observers mainly criticize the State Audit Office, saying they act on the basis […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Observers from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) are now in place in Tbilisi and have started monitoring events leading in preparation for the parliamentary election. ODIHR will publish its final report two months […]
Two officials in the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) in a new statement express concern about how Georgia’s authorities are enforcing a set of new tough campaign finance rules. The regulations were ushered in late in 2011, after the appearance […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – The largest opposition bloc in Georgia has decided to join the code of conduct for political parties. The rules were the brainchild of the campaign This Affects You Too, and the 17-point document outlines rules of conduct for political parties […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – The largest opposition bloc in Georgia was denied to register under the number seven on the ballot in the upcoming parliamentary election. Representatives of the Georgian Dream coalition say that they have asked the Central Election Commission […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Political parties in Georgia are ready to agree with rules of conduct prepared by the campaign This Affects You Too intended to secure a peaceful, fair and competitive electoral environment before the October 1 parliamentary election. The ruling […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – It is still unknown when international observers will start monitoring the election in Georgia. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 1, but long-term observsers have not yet arrived in the country. Local rights groups have for months […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Georgia appeal to international observers, organizations and diplomatic corps to look closer at the what is happening before the October 1 election. The groups have been monitoring the election processes […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia’s National Communications Commission (GNCC) claims that broadcasters will be forced to air free political commercials, even if they don’t air paid commercials. Regional broadcasters say it is an incorrect interpretation of the law, which will […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – There are 3 621 256 voters in Georgia, according to Central Election Commission’s (CEC) preliminary data, which was published today. According to the CEC, there are 84 election districts in the country. The majority of voters,155 502, are from […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) will hold training courses about the electoral issues for employees in the local government in all Georgian municipalities. The training project aims to contribute to the conduction […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia will hold parliamentary elections on October 1. The announcement marks the beginning of the election campaign and political parties are now subject to a special set of rules. Whereas, the Georgian constitution says that parliamentary […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – 291 471 voters registered in Georgia are currently living abroad, while 26 000 are dead. These are the main corrections which the state commission working with the voter’s lists have found by going door-to-door and checking 3 483 142 voters. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia will hold parliamentary elections on October 1, 2012. Manana Manjgalade, spokesperson for President Mikheil Saakashvili, said this at a briefing on Wednesday. She said the president is sure that the October elections will be yet another […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Most Georgians who live illegally abroad may not be able to vote in the upcoming elections, after Georgia’s Foreign Affairs Minister made the rules for qualifying as a voter stricter. There are no precise data about Georgian citizens living illegally abroad, […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Amnesty International expresses concern about the recent violence against opposition supporters and journalists in Georgia. In a new report, the organizations describes cases of verbal and physical abuse against Georgian Dream activists who […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – The opposition Georgian Dream coalition is ready to join a declaration asking for a competitive, fair and peaceful election. Maia Panjikidze, spokesperson for the coalition, said Monday that the coalition supports a document published July 16 […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – The government in Georgia will add points prepared by non-government organizations to the declaration of acting regulations for elections. But it is still unknown whether Georgian Dream will join this declaration or not. Even though […]
A new portal in Georgia has been created to let people report violations during the election period. The website is called the Multi-NGO Elections Portal, and aims at collecting information about alleged violations and incident throughout the election period. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Saakashvili’s main competitor Bidzina Ivanishvili has named 12 more majoritarian candidates to stand for election from regions outside of Tbilisi. The Georgian Dream coalition has until now named 40 majoritarian candidates. The rest, including […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Campaigners in Georgia welcome an initiative by the government to make political actors commit to not use or incite violence during the election campaign. The campaign This Affects You Too thinks that such an agreement between political parties […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – One day after President Saakashvili met regional governors and told them to guarantee that the election process is exemplary, a fistfight broke out during an opposition event near a Russian checkpoint north of Gori. The fistfight on Tuesday was […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia may restrict Russian observers from attending the parliamentary elections in October. If a new law proposal is passed, any country that wants to send observers must first express its support for Georgia’s sovereignty. Russia has recognized […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – A group of experts from the OSCE has arrived in Georgia to study the situation before the election. Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Nino Kalandadze says the experts, who come from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), will […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – A democracy campaign in Georgia is keeping up the pressure on the government to change the law to counteract pro-government bias in TV media ahead of the election in October. The campaign This Affects You Too started in February as a reaction to […]
-The absence of a free media makes any kind of meaningful democracy impossible. Saakashvili’s givernment is using legalistic and legislative pyrotechnics to ensure an unfair political system, says Lincoln Mitchell, Associate at Columbia University’s Harriman Institute and Georgia-expert. […]
What does the U.S. expect from Georgia and what does Georgia expect from the U.S.? The U.S. has repeatedly declared Georgia a beacon for democracy and the most westernized country in the region, which accordingly can be called ‘partly democratic’, writes Zaza […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – On May 26, Georgia’s independence day, President Mikheil Saakashvili argued that it is time for a stronger nationalism in order to undermine Russia’s influence. The call for a strengthening of nationalism came during a speech in Kutaisi at the […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – The first interim report of one of several extraordinary election monitoring teams says that this spring has been marked by numerous cases of political intimidation. The report covers the period between April 1 and May 4 and is written by […]
Last week was remarkable due to the activities of a number of NGOs (such as TI Georgia, GYLA, ISFED, Coalition for Free Choice, Media Coalition and others), which several months ago started a civic movement called “This Affects You Too”, writes Eka Gigauri, executive […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Political parties in Georgia need to strengthen their internal democracy. This is the conclusion of a new report by Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD). In the report Internal Party Democracy and Local Government NIMD names three […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – European liberal politicians visited an opposition billionaire in Tbilisi Thursday to contribute their views on how democracy can progress in Georgia. Representatives of the Liberal International, which is an international federation of liberal […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – The U.S. organization Committee for Open Democracy (COD) is to send log term election observers to monitor the parliamentary election in Georgia in October. “We’ll be focusing on the processes of democracy and people’s confidence in these […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Media and law organizations in Georgia suggest another package of legislative amendments for the electoral environment in the country. The bill will regulate issues like the definition of hidden political advertisement, paid and free political commercials, […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration is accused of bribing voters, after several closed meetings with the population in different cities in Georgia, Maestro TV reports. The meetings were held to introduce the ruling National […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – From now on it will be possible to be elected to parliament from the age of 21. Before, the age limit was 25 years. The Constitution of Georgia sets a lower age limit for being elected to parliament, so appropriate changes are to be made to the constitution. […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – A little known clause in Georgia’s election law may allow the authorities to block most foreign election observers, only allowing two observers from each organization. This includes the OSCE and the EU. A newly established movement called League of Voters […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – Georgia’s Patriarch, Ilia II, told foreign diplomats that their assistance is needed for the difficult election period his country is heading into. Ilia, who has great influence among the population, appealed to the diplomats during a ceremony Friday […]
TBILISI, DFWatch – There is uncertainty about the exact date of Georgia’s parliamentary election, with some expecting that president Mikheil Saakashvili might decide to hold them earlier than October. The exact date is decided by the president and must be announced at least sixty days in advance. The constitution says different things; on the [...]
