2017 Georgian Local Elections

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How a Trump presidency could impact the South Caucasus

by Robin Fabbro

•10 min read

US President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed foreign policy positions have often been vague, but can generally be understood as being based on a larger pivot toward isolationism. US disengagement from the South Caucasus, or an actual policy of tacit approval for authoritarianism, will redefine Washington’s role in the region. Trump is not known for his detailed foreign policy positions in general, and much less when it comes to the regions of the world considered more peripheral to US interests,

2017 Georgian Local Elections

Georgian Dream loses appeal over electoral loss in Tianeti

by OC Media

•2 min read

Georgian Dream has lost an appeal against the victory of an ex-member in Tianeti’s mayoral race. Tamaz Mechiauri has been declared the victor by Tbilisi Court of Appeals who upheld a judgement from a lower court to overrule the Tianeti District Commission’s approval of 5 annulled ballots in favor of Georgian Dream’s candidate. The Initial count by Tianeti District Commission gave Mechiauri a lead of a single vote over Georgian Dream’s Lela Kitesashvili. The commission then approved 5 annull

2017 Georgian Local Elections

Kaladze elected Tbilisi Mayor as Georgian Dream wins landslide nationwide

by OC Media

•4 min read

Kakha Kaladze has been elected Mayor of Tbilisi in Georgia’s local elections. The ruling Georgian Dream party won polls throughout the country, coming first in all 64 cities and municipalities electing mayors. Local and international observers say that voting went ahead without serious incident, although a number of cases of party activists using voter lists at polling stations to mobilise supporters were reported. Independent runner up Kaladze, a former football player for AC Milan wh

2017 Georgian Local Elections

Five shot in attack on party headquarters in Marneuli, Georgia

by OC Media

•2 min read

A local leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party and four others have been shot near their local party headquarters in south-east Georgia. Jeyhun Choydarov, a majoritarian candidate for Marneuli’s municipal council (sakrebulo), and four associates were wounded late at night on 19 October, at their headquarters in the village of Kizilajlo. Four of the injured were rushed to hospital in Marneuli. According to a doctor at the hospital, all of them had suffered gunshot wounds, and two had to

2017 Georgian Local Elections

Tbilisi kindergarten heads ‘instructed to support Kaladze for mayor’

by OC Media

•2 min read

Dozens of heads of publicly run kindergartens in Tbilisi have been instructed to collect lists of voters they think might vote for Kakha Kaladze in upcoming local elections, according to an investigation. Kaladze, an ex Energy Minister, is running for Mayor of Tbilisi for the ruling Georgian Dream party. This is the scoop from an investigation by Studia Monitori, an independent investigative news programme. The story was broken after Monitori was tipped off by a source. According to th

2017 Georgian Local Elections

Muslims ‘forced to swear on Quran’ to vote for Georgian Dream

by OC Media

•2 min read

Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party has been accused of forcing people to swear on the Quran that they would vote for the party in upcoming local elections. The accusations came from local people and an opposition party in the south-eastern Dmanisi Municipality, an area predominantly populated by Muslims. A number of people from the village of Irganchai claim local party activists from Georgian Dream threatened to cut them off from social welfare payments if they refused. ‘They [t

2017 Georgian Local Elections

‘First ever’ openly lesbian candidate runs for elections in Georgia

by OC Media

•2 min read

An openly lesbian woman is running for Tbilisi City Council in the upcoming local self-government elections. Nino Bolkvadze, a human rights lawyer and a queer rights activist, was presented as a candidate for the Republican Party on 15 September. ‘It is important for me to voice principal issues — the existence of real, invisible problems, that people are fighting for survival, homelessness, unemployment, low quality of life’, Bolkvadze said during an exclusive interview with Liberali mag