The Daily Beat: 31 October
At a press briefing, the chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobakhidze, criticized “rich” CSOs for issuing a joint statement, slamming the government’s response to the imposition of US sanctions on Georgian judges and former general prosecutor. Irakli Kobakhidze blamed the CSOs for “trying not to allow the new U.S. Ambassador to reset relations with Georgia,” further claiming that partners failed to provide persuasive evidence to substantiate the guilt of sanctioned individuals.
The ruling party MP and the Defense and Security Committee chair, Irakli Beraia, denigrated an independent MP, Teona Akubardia, at the parliamentary session for not supporting the Georgia-related amendment at the recent NATO parliamentary assembly. MP Beraia described Teona Akubardia as a “shameless and disgraceful liar,” urging her to refrain from mentioning the defense and security committee with “her long and widely traveled tongue.” MP Beraia’s appalling remarks triggered condemnations, including from the Georgian Dream MPs and the President. Later in the day, MP Beraia admitted that he emotionally overreacted and apologized for his remarks.
Another women MP from the United National Movement, Ani Tsitlidze, was verbally attacked by the ruling party MP Aluda Gudushauri. MP Gudushauri slandered his female colleague, describing her as “lame” and “looser,” who isn’t even on the list of Saakashvili’s favorites. Speaker Papushavili admitted the failure to react to personal insults on women MPs, saying that he was late to react but took note of these incidents.
In her public statement, President Salome Zurabishvili expressed solidarity with the women MPs, calling the verbal attacks against them completely unacceptable, appalling, and disrespectful to the Georgian parliament and people. She also urged the Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili to take the strictest measures against the MPs involved in such shameful misbehavior.
The Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) issued a report assessing the authorities’ response to the March 7-9 civil protests, both in terms of the decision to disperse the rallies and the proportionality of the means used. According to the GYLA report, the interior ministry’s decision to dissolve the demonstrations violated the constitution, and in some cases, authorities failed to manage the tense situation properly. The report also suggests that the authorities didn’t take the opportunity to negotiate with the organizers or participants of the March protests.
The National Statistics Office (Geostat) reported the real GDP growth rate, amounting to 5.1% for September 2023 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. Geostat data suggested that financial and insurance activities, construction, trade, accommodation, and food service activities significantly contributed to the GDP growth. Geostat said the average real GDP growth for January-September 2023 equaled 6.8%.
