The Daily Beat: 15 November
Despite the calls from the opposition parties, the ruling Georgian Dream party does not intend to lower the election threshold from 5% to 2%. “Just have a look at the latest polls; only the UNM can pass the 5% threshold and enter the parliament; other parties are below that threshold. 5% equals approximately 95 thousand votes; you are not a party when you can’t get 95 thousand votes in the country. So we will not lower the threshold for such parties, especially extremist parties,” said the Georgian Dream chairperson, Irakli Kobakhidze.
At the meeting with the co-chairs of the Geneva International Discussions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin stressed the need for “more energetic work” with the Georgian side to prevent further incidents on the occupation line near Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia. According to the Russian MFA, during the meeting, the Russian side also emphasized the importance of launching the delimitation/demarcation process of the so-called borders between Georgia and occupied regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russian diplomat’s comments came as Georgian citizen Tamaz Ginturi was shot dead by Russian troops near Tskhinvali Region occupation line.
The foreign ministry confirmed to Civil.ge the capture of the two Georgian citizens fighting in Ukraine by the Russian armed forces. The foreign ministry further claimed that “the Georgian side will use all international mechanisms at its disposal, including the international organization Red Cross and the Swiss Confederation as a mediator between Georgia and Russia, to protect the rights of Georgian citizens guaranteed by the Constitution.”
French armored personnel carriers “Bastion” and its components are shipped to the port of Poti for further transportation to Armenia. The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan strongly condemned France’s decision to deliver offensive armored carriers to Armenia, accusing France of undermining peace efforts in the region. The Georgian foreign minister, Ilia Darchiashvili, also commented on the matter, saying that every country has the right to acquire conventional weapons as international agreements allow. “Georgia’s position is that both countries [Azerbaijan and Armenia] should have the opportunity to use the transit function of our country on equal terms,” noted FM Darchiashvili.
After long-lasting protests and tense negotiations between the parents of the children with achondroplasia and health authorities, three teenagers and one child with severe symptoms finally received the first dose of the long-expected medication “Vosoritide.” One of the parents reported in her social media post that the drug finally arrived in Georgia. In the Spring of this year, parents of children with achondroplasia protested for 19 days in front of the Prime Minister’s office, demanding the import of appropriate drugs into Georgia.
The newly elected President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Pia Kauma, arrived in Georgia as part of a regional visit, where she met with the Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuasvili. During the meeting, Speaker Papuashvili congratulated Kauma on her election as OSCE PA President and stressed the OSCE PA’s importance in promoting inter-parliamentary dialogue. According to an official press release, the parties also discussed upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia, emphasizing the importance of international observation missions. President Kauma anticipates that the OSCE PA delegation will be invited to observe the 2024 parliamentary elections in Georgia.
A local watchdog, Transparency International-Georgia (TI-Georgia), published a quarterly newsletter, revealing that more than half of Georgian Dream’s donors have ties to alcohol-producing companies, many of which are direct beneficiaries of government subsidies, loans, or contracts. According to the TI-Georgia newsletter, from July 1 to September 30, the political parties received a total of GEL 1, 901,299 million, four times more than in the previous quarter. The ruling Georgian Dream party is the largest recipient of donations – GEL 1, 238,00 million, followed by the United National Movement – GEL 274,677 and Lelo for Georgia – 186, 020.
