The News in Brief
Friday, June 20
Repeat vote to be held on June 29 in Marneuli
A repeat vote will be held on June 29 at the Marneuli polling stations. The CEC speaker Eka Azarashvili said, “As a result of studying the videos spread by media and making corresponding decisions, the results of two polling stations were abolished. These are #25 and #57 polling stations. On June 29, there will be a repeat vote at these two locations.”
United National Movement presented video materials which reflected election fraud according to their evaluation. The video shows that the same person put a ballot in the box several times. (IPN)
Four police officers involved in clashes between MIA employees dismissed
Four police officers, who were involved in clashes between employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, have been dismissed by the Interior Ministry’s Inspector General.
“As a result of a report received from the Patrol Police Department, the Inspector General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted an inquiry on the fact of physical conflict between employees of the Ministry on June 17, 2014. On the basis of the decision of the Inspector General, the employees of the 2nd and 7th Units of Old Tbilisi Division of Tbilisi Main Division - Irakli Darakhvelidze, Rezo Kakalashvili, Givi Gamezardashvili and Dato Kandelaki - were dismissed for a disciplinary offense envisaged by the sub clause “d” (“dishonest behavior against moral and ethical norms and discrediting the servant or an institution regardless if it is committed in or outside of the workplace”) and the sub clause “f” (“Inappropriate behavior of an employee that infringes on the authority of the Ministry”) of the clause 2 of the Article 2 of the “Disciplinary Regulations of the Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs”, says the statement of the Interior Ministry. (frontnews)
Burjanadze on GD, UNM and Local Elections
Nino Burjanadze, whose coalition of several non-parliamentary opposition parties has the third best result in the June 15 local elections, called on her supporters to vote neither for GD ruling coalition nor for UNM in those districts where second round runoffs will be held between the candidates of these two political forces. Speaking about local elections in Rustavi 2 TV’s talk show late on June 17, Burjanadze slammed the Georgian Dream ruling coalition for pursuing, as she put it, “harmful” policies that caused the “survival” of the former ruling UNM party.
She said that although election results were manipulated and in many cases by both parties and through concerted efforts of GD and UNM, her coalition asserted itself as a growing political force.
“Regrettably it was a victory for the United National Movement for whom the second place is really an incredible result,” Burjanadze said.“UNM was struggling for survival and it succeeded very well because of Georgian Dream,” she said and added that not only did UNM survive, but it is even a threat with street protest rallies – a reference to remarks by UNM MP Nugzar Tsiklauri who suggested that government’s policies and its failure to deliver with its promises may result in street protests in autumn.
“Regrettably the ruling coalition has done everything in order to reinvigorate the UNM, which was disappearing off the [political] radar following the 2012 parliamentary elections,” she said.“If the authorities continue this way, there is a high probability that the [Georgian] Dream itself may disappear from the political scene and the National Movement may return back to government,” Burjanadze said.
She said that instead of portraying, as she put it, a failure of the GD in the local elections as a success, PM and leader of GD coalition Irakli Garibashvili should make adequate assessments and look into activities of some of the coalition member parties – she particularly pointed at the Republican Party by citing parliament speaker Davit Usupashvili, who said in April, 2013 a year ago that the survival of the former ruling party, UNM, “is the task of Georgian democracy.”
She also said that by doing so those interested in UNM’s survival are also trying “to score political points from certain circles in the West” – a similar notion is also argued by the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia, a party which has the fourth best result in the June 15 local elections, and whose political platform is mostly similar on many key issues with the one of Burjanadze. (civil.ge)
Global Peace Index: Georgia becoming a more peaceful nation
Georgia is becoming a more peaceful country while many other countries around the world are descending into chaos.
Georgia climbed 28 positions in global peace ratings and placed 111th out of 162 countries but it was still below the global average, according to the 2014 Global Peace Index (GPI) put together by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).
The world has generally become less peaceful each year since 2008, CPI said. The continued conflict in Syria, the deteriorating situation in Ukraine and the civil war in South Sudan contributed to the trend.
Georgia gained more positive results in the report, which showed the country had made strong improvement in its external and internal peace scores.
"In the former case, it was due to gradually improving relationships with its neighbours, including Russia, with which it still has not formalised diplomatic ties, but has seen some thawing of its existing animosity though a (limited) resumption of trade,” the report said.
On the internal side, the report believed Georgia’s score was boosted by a reduction in prison population numbers as well as decreasing numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons, while its post-war stability was reflected in a reduction of its level of organised conflict and political instability in the Government’s second year in office.
To a lesser extent, Georgia also benefited from a fall in military expenditure. (agenda.ge)
A repeat vote will be held on June 29 at the Marneuli polling stations. The CEC speaker Eka Azarashvili said, “As a result of studying the videos spread by media and making corresponding decisions, the results of two polling stations were abolished. These are #25 and #57 polling stations. On June 29, there will be a repeat vote at these two locations.”
United National Movement presented video materials which reflected election fraud according to their evaluation. The video shows that the same person put a ballot in the box several times. (IPN)
Four police officers involved in clashes between MIA employees dismissed
Four police officers, who were involved in clashes between employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, have been dismissed by the Interior Ministry’s Inspector General.
“As a result of a report received from the Patrol Police Department, the Inspector General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted an inquiry on the fact of physical conflict between employees of the Ministry on June 17, 2014. On the basis of the decision of the Inspector General, the employees of the 2nd and 7th Units of Old Tbilisi Division of Tbilisi Main Division - Irakli Darakhvelidze, Rezo Kakalashvili, Givi Gamezardashvili and Dato Kandelaki - were dismissed for a disciplinary offense envisaged by the sub clause “d” (“dishonest behavior against moral and ethical norms and discrediting the servant or an institution regardless if it is committed in or outside of the workplace”) and the sub clause “f” (“Inappropriate behavior of an employee that infringes on the authority of the Ministry”) of the clause 2 of the Article 2 of the “Disciplinary Regulations of the Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs”, says the statement of the Interior Ministry. (frontnews)
Burjanadze on GD, UNM and Local Elections
Nino Burjanadze, whose coalition of several non-parliamentary opposition parties has the third best result in the June 15 local elections, called on her supporters to vote neither for GD ruling coalition nor for UNM in those districts where second round runoffs will be held between the candidates of these two political forces. Speaking about local elections in Rustavi 2 TV’s talk show late on June 17, Burjanadze slammed the Georgian Dream ruling coalition for pursuing, as she put it, “harmful” policies that caused the “survival” of the former ruling UNM party.
She said that although election results were manipulated and in many cases by both parties and through concerted efforts of GD and UNM, her coalition asserted itself as a growing political force.
“Regrettably it was a victory for the United National Movement for whom the second place is really an incredible result,” Burjanadze said.“UNM was struggling for survival and it succeeded very well because of Georgian Dream,” she said and added that not only did UNM survive, but it is even a threat with street protest rallies – a reference to remarks by UNM MP Nugzar Tsiklauri who suggested that government’s policies and its failure to deliver with its promises may result in street protests in autumn.
“Regrettably the ruling coalition has done everything in order to reinvigorate the UNM, which was disappearing off the [political] radar following the 2012 parliamentary elections,” she said.“If the authorities continue this way, there is a high probability that the [Georgian] Dream itself may disappear from the political scene and the National Movement may return back to government,” Burjanadze said.
She said that instead of portraying, as she put it, a failure of the GD in the local elections as a success, PM and leader of GD coalition Irakli Garibashvili should make adequate assessments and look into activities of some of the coalition member parties – she particularly pointed at the Republican Party by citing parliament speaker Davit Usupashvili, who said in April, 2013 a year ago that the survival of the former ruling party, UNM, “is the task of Georgian democracy.”
She also said that by doing so those interested in UNM’s survival are also trying “to score political points from certain circles in the West” – a similar notion is also argued by the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia, a party which has the fourth best result in the June 15 local elections, and whose political platform is mostly similar on many key issues with the one of Burjanadze. (civil.ge)
Global Peace Index: Georgia becoming a more peaceful nation
Georgia is becoming a more peaceful country while many other countries around the world are descending into chaos.
Georgia climbed 28 positions in global peace ratings and placed 111th out of 162 countries but it was still below the global average, according to the 2014 Global Peace Index (GPI) put together by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).
The world has generally become less peaceful each year since 2008, CPI said. The continued conflict in Syria, the deteriorating situation in Ukraine and the civil war in South Sudan contributed to the trend.
Georgia gained more positive results in the report, which showed the country had made strong improvement in its external and internal peace scores.
"In the former case, it was due to gradually improving relationships with its neighbours, including Russia, with which it still has not formalised diplomatic ties, but has seen some thawing of its existing animosity though a (limited) resumption of trade,” the report said.
On the internal side, the report believed Georgia’s score was boosted by a reduction in prison population numbers as well as decreasing numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons, while its post-war stability was reflected in a reduction of its level of organised conflict and political instability in the Government’s second year in office.
To a lesser extent, Georgia also benefited from a fall in military expenditure. (agenda.ge)