Levan Oniani
Georgia’s ruling party has become embroiled in another scandal after an official made a misogynistic statement. Levan Oniani is accused by women’s rights advocates of making sexist comments against TV presenter Inga Grigolia. [Read more…]
A screenshot of Giorgi Gabunia's Postscriptum show on Rustavi 2.
Georgia’s Foreign Ministry has called on the international community to ‘assess’ a vulgar rant against Russian President Vladimir Putin aired on opposition-leaning TV station Rustavi 2. [Read more…]
Dozens of people were injured as police fired rubber bullets into the crowd. (Mari Nikuradze / OC Media)
Hundreds were hospitalised after police and protesters clashed on 20–21 June, and questions remain over the actions of the police. Despite an investigation into violence by police being opened, no officer has yet been charged. [Read more…]
Nika Melia at the protest on 20 June. (Mari Nikuradze / OC Media)
Georgia’s parliament has stripped Nika Melia, a prominent MP from the opposition United National Movement Party (UNM), of his parliamentary immunity — effectively greenlighting his arrest. The Prosecutor’s Office requested the move as they suspect Melia of inciting protesters to violence at an anti-Russia protest outside parliament on 20–21 June. [Read more…]
Davit Sergeenko (Health Ministry photo)
Georgia’s Minister of Health, Labour, and Social Affairs, Davit Sergeenko, has resigned from the government. Sergeenko was known as one of the most popular politicians in the country, regularly coming out on top in public opinion polls. [Read more…]
Shalva Shavgulidze and Vladimer Kakhadze held a live debate on the Georgian Public Broadcaster.
The opposition candidate in Sunday’s parliamentary by-election in Tbilisi has refused to congratulate his opponent from the ruling Georgian Dream party after losing the vote, accusing him of running a dirty campaign. [Read more…]
(MDF report)
Georgian watchdog groups are becoming increasingly worried about bogus user accounts that frequently praise the government and target their critics, especially in times critical for the ruling Georgian Dream Party. Negative campaigns, online trolls, and fake news agencies, which dominated the last presidential election and indicated murky campaign finances, have now become a part of daily political news. [Read more…]
Bidzina Ivanishvili (Mari Nikuradze / OC Media)
The chair of the ruling Georgian Dream Party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, is the most negatively viewed politician in Georgia, according to a new poll by the National Democratic Institute. [Read more…]
Still from Odishi TV footage.
Opposition activists and a TV crew have been attacked in the west-Georgian city of Zugdidi in the run-up to the local mayoral election. [Read more…]
While a large number of Georgians think the country is going in the wrong direction, the fact that they are judging the country’s performance based on issues rather than political partisanship alone is a good sign. [Read more…]
