On September 30, President Salome Zurabishvili met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin, following a visit to Paris. The two leaders discussed the upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia, the Russian factor, and barriers faced by the Georgian diaspora in participating in the elections.
Transparency International Georgia has announced that it will not be able to monitor the October 26 parliamentary elections under its name. This decision comes after the Tbilisi City Court upheld the Anti-Corruption Bureau‘s decision to declare the organization and its Executive Director, Eka Gigauri, as entities with declared electoral goals.
The Tbilisi City Court also ruled against three appeals challenging the Central Election Commission’s decision to open a limited number of polling stations abroad. This decision has raised concerns about the principles of universality and equality in the elections, according to ISFED lawyer Rati Tinikashvili.
President Salome Zurabishvili strongly criticized the Central Election Commission’s decision, calling it a disregard for the law and a violation of people’s right to vote. She also shared a post from Netgazeti, which pointed out that Moldova has 228 polling stations abroad compared to Georgia’s 60.
In an op-ed published in The Hill newspaper, former U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor David J. Kramer called on the U.S. to sanction Georgian Dream’s founder and current Honorary Chairman, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, and his party to protect Georgia’s democracy from authoritarianism.
According to reports from opposition-leaning Formula TV, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, Head of Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee Anri Okhanashvili, Georgian Dream majority whip Mamuka Mdinaradze, and Georgian Dream MP Dito Samkharadze are among the individuals sanctioned by the U.S. Kaladze neither confirmed nor denied the reports, stating that it is not important to him.
The State Security Service announced that Vladimer Tsabadze, who was unlawfully detained by Russian occupying forces near the Tskhinvali occupation line, has been freed and is now in the territory controlled by the central government. The two other individuals who were detained with him were released earlier. The State Security Service emphasized that those responsible for destructive actions in the occupied territories will be held accountable.
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