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Bakradze invites German lawmakers to monitor elections

Akhali Taoba writes that while on an official visit to Germany, Speaker of Parliament Davit Bakradze met with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag.

Bakradze and Ruprecht Polenz, the Chair of the Committee, spoke about ongoing reforms in Georgia, including constitutional and electoral changes, as well as the situation in the breakaway territories. Bakradze also officially invited German legislators to observe Georgia's parliamentary elections this fall.

During their meeting, the parties also spoke about Georgia’s prospects on European and NATO integration, including plans for the upcoming NATO Chicago Summit.

"One of the main topics that we discussed was the ongoing internal reforms, including preparation for elections. I took this opportunity and invited [my] German colleagues to the elections, together with all those foreign observers and international organizations, which, I hope will be represented in plentitude. Moreover, we spoke about foreign policy. The support of Germany in Georgia’s EU assimilation process is of great importance. We focused on NATO; the NATO Summit is scheduled in Chicago and Germany serves as one of the decisive states,” Bakradze commented.



Georgian Dream expects 70,000 people at rally

On May 27, the Georgian Dream coalition is hosting a campaign rally at Liberty Square, at which they expect more than 70,000 people to attend.

The coalition's press speaker, Maia Panjikidze, told Resonansi that because they expect so many people, a stadium or other closed spaced was out of the question.

“You know, Dynamo stadium can hold 65-70,000 people. Therefore, considering that we are expecting much more than 70,000 people at the rally, we have decided to [hold it] in Liberty Square," Panjikidze said.

Political analyst Ramaz Sakvarelidze said that the number of people who attend the rally will determine not only coalition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili’s success, but how the public will react if the election is rigged - how many people are willing to come out and defend their votes.

Information about the rally was released in a video message from Ivanishvili on his facebook page earlier this week.