The Daily Beat: 20 August
The ruling Georgian Dream party addressed its supporters on August 20, saying it seeks the Constitutional mandate on four grounds: to ban what it calls “collective UNM”; to crack down on “gay propaganda” in the name of family values and traditions; due to vaguely outlined constitutional changes that may be required in case of eventual restoration of territorial integrity; and for another reason it said should remain secret for now. GD said it stands for “peace, traditional values, and state sovereignty” and that to achieve the four goals, it needs to win a constitutional majority. Incidentally, the poll sponsored by the government mouthpiece Imedi TV gave GD just under 60% of public support.
A 32-year-old lawyer, Sandro Kirvalidze, was put in charge of implementing the “foreign agents” law. Kirvalidze has spent his entire career at the Ministry of Justice. He joined the Ministry in 2012 as a “researcher” and rose to a managerial position, overseeing the registration service of property rights from September 2021 until his appointment to his new role in August. Media also reported today that just before the appointment, Kirvalidze stepped down from the board of an obscure civil society group that ostensibly works on the rights of Azerbaijani minority in Georgia.
On August 16, the Central Election Commission (CEC) issued a decree stating that the chairman of each precinct election commission must draw lots to distribute duties among commission members one week before the election rather than on election day as previously required. The new rule fueled fears among watchdogs and the opposition that it would give authorities time to pressure these election officials. Opposition challenges the decree in court.
Nineteen people, both Georgian and foreign, were arrested for drug-related crimes, out of which six – on charges of drug trafficking, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reported on August 20. Due to the large amount of drugs seized, the detained may face 20 years to life imprisonment.
