Impeachment & more– 5th Oct 2023

According to the constitution, the President requires government consent for diplomatic negotiations, which the Georgian Dream or Otsneba didn’t give. If the Courts say that Zourabichvili violated the Constitution, Otsneba will need 100 deputies' votes in the Parliament to dismiss the President. Irakli Kobakhidze, Otsneba Chairman, said that Zourabichvili's representatives, Tamar Chugoshvili, a former member of Parliament from Otsneba, and Maya Kopaleishvili, a former judge of the Constitutional Court, did not present valid arguments to dismiss Zourabichvili's impeachment. Opposition members criticized the hearing, calling it a farce.

From the OMG, can it get any worse file, on Monday, the 2nd, the State Security Service of Georgia announced that it had caught three Serbian trainers recruiting activists to orchestrate a violent overthrow of Georgia's government. The Security service said these trainers were part of the Center for Applied Non-Violent Actions and Strategies or CANVAS— a non-governmental educational institution based in Belgrade—, which has programs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development or USAID. Basically, the Security Service said the USAID was linked to the failed coup attempt.

The U.S. Embassy in Georgia stated that the allegations of the Security Service were "false" and fundamentally “mischaracterized" the goals of U.S. assistance to Georgia.

Giorgi Meladze, the director of CANVAS Georgia, denied the allegations concerning the organization of the coup. He said that following the successful civic campaign against the "Russian Law" in Tbilisi in February-March twenty twenty-three, high-ranking Georgian state officials openly targeted the organization and him personally, calling him an "extremist lecturer."

On Tuesday, the 2nd, the Human Rights Protection Committee of the Parliament supported the changes in the Assemblies and Manifestations law. The draft law prohibits demonstrators from setting up temporary constructions, such as tents, that “threaten anyone's safety or disrupt public order.” Violating these new rules will result in confiscation of the temporary structure and a fine of 500 laris, around 200 US dollars, or confiscation and administrative detention of up to fifteen days. Organizers of the protests will receive a bigger punishment, a fine of five thousand laris or two thousand U.S. dollars or administrative detention of up to fifteen days. Otsneba members said they submitted the draft after the 18th of September when the State Security Service uncovered an alleged plan of civil unrest. However, many politicians said that Otsneba is afraid of losing power, and that's why the Government is tightening laws on peaceful protests and rallies.

On Sunday, the 1st, Georgia held interim parliamentary elections in Gori and Kaspi in the Shida Kartli region and extraordinary mayoral elections in Gurjaani in the Kakheti region. The Central Election Commission, or CEC, set up 133 polling stations in the three municipalities. The Commission tested electronic voting in 103 stations. Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the CEC Chairman, reported that sixteen international observers from three organizations, 426 local observers from twenty-three organizations, and 178 representatives of electoral subjects registered with the electoral management body monitored the elections. The electoral management body accredited 158 representatives of media organizations. Kalandarishvili said that according to the preliminary results, the Otsneba candidates won in the three municipalities.

A couple of clarifications. The electronic voting is really just electronic ballot marking, the ballots are still on paper and the voters see how their ballots are marked and put them in the ballot box themselves. Also, the next full parliamentary election which will be on the 26th of October twenty twenty-four will be a fully national proportional election, so people will vote for one party and the candidates will be apportioned seats. There is a quite high five percent threshold for a party to get any seats in that election.

On Friday, the 29th, Transparency International-Georgia, or T.I., the local chapter of the international watchdog, released a report on the increase in Georgia's economic reliance on Russia in the first half of twenty twenty-three. The report indicates that from January to June twenty twenty-three, Georgia earned two billion dollars in revenue from Russia, primarily derived from remittances, tourism, and the export of goods. This figure is 1.6 times more than the January-June twenty twenty-two number. The watchdog has expressed concerns over the growing economic dependence on Russia, stating that it poses a significant threat to Georgia's sovereignty. T.I. emphasized that Russia has a history of using financial leverage to exert political pressure on other countries, which could have dire consequences for Georgia's political independence and territorial integrity.

On Monday, the 2nd, TI reported in a different report that in twenty twenty-two, the total advertising revenue of TV and radio broadcasters in Georgia decreased by almost 8% compared to the previous year, amounting to eighty million laris, around thirty million dollars. This decline was primarily due to the changes to the Law on Broadcasting, which prohibited gambling advertisements. TI said that pro-governmental televisions received twice as much advertising revenue as opposition media.

On Saturday the 30th and Sunday the 1st, Tbilisi celebrated Tbilisoba, its annual city festival, that was the Soviet replacement for Ispanakhoba which was a wilder and more native celebration that was very multi ethnic and went against Soviet nationalities policy of divide and rule. The Tbilisoba program included concerts and attractions for children, sports activities, musical performances, art installations, gastronomic and wine stands, entrepreneurial markets, and many other activities at Rike Park, Orbeliani Square, and Abanotubani. As part of the festival, Kakhi Kaladze, Tbilisi’s mayor, bestowed twenty-six public figures with the title of Honorary Citizen of Tbilisi. The recipients included individuals from various professions, such as artists, doctors, academics, and musicians.

On Sunday the 1st, Bruno Mars, the well-known American singer, performed at the Dinamo Arena stadium in Tbilisi. The event was part of Starring Georgia, a series of shows aimed at promoting the country's tourism potential and showcasing it on the entertainment events map worldwide. The highlight of the performance was when Bruno Mars sang a rendition of "Tbiliso," a song by the late Georgian composer Revaz Lagidze. Maia Omiadze, the Head of the Georgian National Tourism Administration, stated that the show hosted about 70,000 fans.

On Friday, the 29th, in Tsalenjikha region, residents of Etserferdi village in Chale municipality held a rally on the Jvari-Mestia road, demanding road improvements. They attempted to block the road, but law enforcement didn’t let them. The police removed some protestors from the area, but it is unclear whether they have arrested them. Tamar Belkania, Deputy Mayor, said that the Tsalenjikha mayor talked to the residents and promised that the city hall would present a road rehabilitation project to the city council.

On Wednesday the 4th, Aslan Bzhania, the leader of Abkhazia, announced that Russia will establish a new permanent naval base in the Ochamchiri region. Bzhania emphasized that their relations with Tbilisi are limited to energy-related matters and extend hardly beyond discussions held in Geneva. He also described the current leadership of Georgia as pragmatic, presumably because Otsneba welcomed a visa-free regime and flights for Russia. Furthermore, Bzhania highlighted that American intelligence planes sometimes violate Abkhazia's airspace, which, in his opinion, reflects the interests of the United States Armed Forces and, to some extent, Georgia’s.

On Wednesday the 4th, Business Media, a local multimedia resource, shared information on the I.T. sector in Georgia based on the reports of the National Bank and National Statistics office. Georgia's I.T. sector revenue increased by 200% to 430 million U.S. dollars in the first half of twenty twenty-three, with a 30% growth expected later this year. The sector's turnover grew 44% in the first quarter and 20% in the second quarter, thanks to international companies entering the country and I.T. specialists from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus migrating to Georgia. Employment in the sector has also risen, with the workforce expanding from 30,000 in twenty twenty-one to 43,000 people in twenty twenty-three.

From Saturday the 7th to Sunday the 15th, the second edition of the annual Wine Days festival will take place in twenty-three municipalities. The Wine Days event will feature Georgian wine tasting, local chefs will prepare traditional dishes. Costumed actors will lead a procession, and locals will be able to participate in wine and ceramic painting lessons. Additionally, the festival will organize tours of wine cellars.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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