The News in Brief
Tuesday, March 22
35th round of Geneva Talks to be held
The 35th round of the Geneva Talks will be held on March 22 and 23. As IPN has been informed from the Reconciliation and Civil Equality Issues Ministry, the First Deputy Minister Ketevan Tsikhelashvili will head the meeting of the group working on humanitarian issues.
According to Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, the issues of Georgian-language classes in the Gali region’s schools, access to agricultural plots, setting up barricades, as well as environmental and cultural heritage issues will be discussed during the meeting.
The First Deputy Minister says the issue of bringing IDPs back still remains the main problem.
The bilateral meetings with the negotiation co-heads will be held on March 22.
(IPN)
PM Meets Non-Parliamentary Opposition
PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili met representatives of several non-parliamentary opposition parties on March 19 and agreed to set up a working group on electoral issues with the participation of senior lawmakers from the GD ruling coalition.
The working group will consider a “package of certain proposals” related to electoral issues, PM’s office said.
“This timeframe [before mid-April] is enough for reaching an agreement on issues where the agreement is possible,” said MP Zviad Kvatchantiradze, the leader of the GD parliamentary majority group, who was also present at the meeting along with some other senior GD lawmakers.
The opposition has long been demanding the scrapping of the majoritarian component of the electoral system by the 2016 elections, but Georgian Dream has only agreed to do so after this year's elections. Parliament approved the amendments to the election code on increasing threshold required for electing a majoritarian MP in the first round from 30% to 50%, as well as bill on electoral redistricting. The Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body for legal and constitutional affairs, hailed the amendments as “an important step forward”, but also noted that the process of drafting redistricting bill lacked transparency and broad engagement with stakeholders.
The working group, which will hold its first meeting on March 23, consists of Mamuka Katsitadze of the New Rights party; Bachuki Kardava, leader of the National Democratic Party; Giorgi Akhvlediani from United Democrats and Gocha Tevdoradze from the Alliance of Patriots; the group will also involve the GD lawmakers, Gia Zhorzholiani, Giga Bukia, Paata Kiknavelidze, Nodar Ebanoidze and Shalva Kiknavelidze. The Prime Minister will be represented by his parliamentary secretary, Shalva Tadumadze.
It was PM’s second meeting with representatives of the non-parliamentary opposition parties in less than two months; he met the same group of opposition politicians and discussed electoral issues in late January.
(Civil.ge)
Inequality Lowers Georgia’s Happiness Score: Report
According to the World Happiness Report 2016, published today, Georgia is in 126th place out of 157 countries included in the study.
The result places Georgia as the ‘least happy’ country of the former Soviet Union, while Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are ‘the happiest’, both placed 49th.
Georgia scored particularly low in the categories of social support (‘having someone to count on in times of trouble’) and generosity (donating money to charity).
Researchers note, however, that Georgia’s happiness level measured in the period 2013–2015 is substantially higher than in the period 2005–2007.
As for Georgia’s neighbouring countries, Armenia came 121st, Azerbaijan came 81st, Russia came 56th, and Turkey came 78th.
The World Happiness Report uses a methodology which combines a variety of measurements of well-being based on income, health, family and friends, and the broader institutional and social context. Other indicators include subjective perceptions of freedom to make life choices, generosity, or level of corruption.
This year’s report gives a special role to the measurement and consequences of inequality in the distribution of well-being, as the researchers involved in preparation of the report concluded that people are happier who live in societies where there is less inequality of happiness.
The World Happiness Report has been published since 2012 by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and is commissioned to promote practical problem solving for sustainable development, including the design and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
(DF WATCH)
The 35th round of the Geneva Talks will be held on March 22 and 23. As IPN has been informed from the Reconciliation and Civil Equality Issues Ministry, the First Deputy Minister Ketevan Tsikhelashvili will head the meeting of the group working on humanitarian issues.
According to Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, the issues of Georgian-language classes in the Gali region’s schools, access to agricultural plots, setting up barricades, as well as environmental and cultural heritage issues will be discussed during the meeting.
The First Deputy Minister says the issue of bringing IDPs back still remains the main problem.
The bilateral meetings with the negotiation co-heads will be held on March 22.
(IPN)
PM Meets Non-Parliamentary Opposition
PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili met representatives of several non-parliamentary opposition parties on March 19 and agreed to set up a working group on electoral issues with the participation of senior lawmakers from the GD ruling coalition.
The working group will consider a “package of certain proposals” related to electoral issues, PM’s office said.
“This timeframe [before mid-April] is enough for reaching an agreement on issues where the agreement is possible,” said MP Zviad Kvatchantiradze, the leader of the GD parliamentary majority group, who was also present at the meeting along with some other senior GD lawmakers.
The opposition has long been demanding the scrapping of the majoritarian component of the electoral system by the 2016 elections, but Georgian Dream has only agreed to do so after this year's elections. Parliament approved the amendments to the election code on increasing threshold required for electing a majoritarian MP in the first round from 30% to 50%, as well as bill on electoral redistricting. The Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body for legal and constitutional affairs, hailed the amendments as “an important step forward”, but also noted that the process of drafting redistricting bill lacked transparency and broad engagement with stakeholders.
The working group, which will hold its first meeting on March 23, consists of Mamuka Katsitadze of the New Rights party; Bachuki Kardava, leader of the National Democratic Party; Giorgi Akhvlediani from United Democrats and Gocha Tevdoradze from the Alliance of Patriots; the group will also involve the GD lawmakers, Gia Zhorzholiani, Giga Bukia, Paata Kiknavelidze, Nodar Ebanoidze and Shalva Kiknavelidze. The Prime Minister will be represented by his parliamentary secretary, Shalva Tadumadze.
It was PM’s second meeting with representatives of the non-parliamentary opposition parties in less than two months; he met the same group of opposition politicians and discussed electoral issues in late January.
(Civil.ge)
Inequality Lowers Georgia’s Happiness Score: Report
According to the World Happiness Report 2016, published today, Georgia is in 126th place out of 157 countries included in the study.
The result places Georgia as the ‘least happy’ country of the former Soviet Union, while Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are ‘the happiest’, both placed 49th.
Georgia scored particularly low in the categories of social support (‘having someone to count on in times of trouble’) and generosity (donating money to charity).
Researchers note, however, that Georgia’s happiness level measured in the period 2013–2015 is substantially higher than in the period 2005–2007.
As for Georgia’s neighbouring countries, Armenia came 121st, Azerbaijan came 81st, Russia came 56th, and Turkey came 78th.
The World Happiness Report uses a methodology which combines a variety of measurements of well-being based on income, health, family and friends, and the broader institutional and social context. Other indicators include subjective perceptions of freedom to make life choices, generosity, or level of corruption.
This year’s report gives a special role to the measurement and consequences of inequality in the distribution of well-being, as the researchers involved in preparation of the report concluded that people are happier who live in societies where there is less inequality of happiness.
The World Happiness Report has been published since 2012 by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and is commissioned to promote practical problem solving for sustainable development, including the design and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
(DF WATCH)