parliament

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Analysis

Analysis | Why the ruling party in Georgia is losing its MPs

by Shota Kincha

•6 min read

A still-forming group in parliament led by former Georgian Dream member Eka Beselia could upset the political landscape in Georgia. With 2020 parliamentary elections on the horizon, this new group poses a potential threat to both billionaire former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili’s ruling party as well as the main opposition. On 27 February, Zviad Kvachantiradze became the latest member of Georgian Dream to announce his departure from the party. Georgian Dream, which, following the 2016 e

Alliance of Patriots

Borjomi’s mayor and staff go on strike

by OC Media

•6 min read

The mayor of Borjomi Municipality, in southern Georgia’s Samtskhe–Javakheti Region, refused to show up for work on 2 March, along with 90 other employees of the mayor’s office. They went on strike after not being paid for the past three months, in a disagreement between the municipal council (sakrebulo) and the mayor’s office over pay. Borjomi’s municipal council have failed to approve a new staff list and staff budget for the mayor’s office since mid-January, leading the entire staff to go

construction

Editorial | Georgia’s government needs to act to protect workers

by OC Media

•2 min read

The latest death of a construction worker in Georgia demonstrates that the government must stand up for the rights and lives of its citizens. With labour reforms on what seems like indefinite hold, the government now needs to act. Twenty-six-year-old Jarji Janjalashvili died on 9 February after falling from the fifth floor of the construction site in Tbilisi he was working on. This tragic accident is far from unique in Georgia, which deregulated the labour market in the mid-2000s. Whil

constitution

Head of Venice Commission ‘disappointed’ with Georgia’s constitutional changes

by OC Media

•2 min read

The head of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission has criticised Georgian authorities during a visit to Tbilisi, after Parliament voted to adopt constitutional amendments in their initial hearings despite objections from opposition parties. Gianni Buquicchio, who heads the advisory body of independent constitutional experts, told journalists on 29 June that he was disappointed, as the political process surrounding the constitutional changes was at a ‘dead end’. Education Minister and

constitution

Georgia’s constitutional changes explained

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•3 min read

Georgia’s government is planning sweeping changes to the country’s constitution. According to their proposals the amendments would change the way the president is elected and deprive him of certain powers, define marriage as a ‘union between a man and a woman’, abolish single-member voting constituencies, and ‘guarantee the social rights of its citizens’. The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has started finalising the long-intended changes to the constitution, as they hold the absolute majo