The News in Brief
Thursday, September 10
Functioning of the ropeway between Rike Park and Narikala Fortress to be put on halt for ten days
The ropeway connecting Rike Park and Narikala Fortress will not function for ten days due to a scheduled inspection.
According to City Hall, the cable systematically undergoes technical inspection in order to ensure safe movement of passengers.
The cable road will not function from September 10 to 20.
"The ropeway between Rike Park and Narikala has been operating since 2012, transporting a daily average of 2 500 passengers. It was built in accordance with international standards, and systematic examination is one of the main conditions for maintenance of safety norms,” says Tbilisi City Hall. (IPN)
GD Initiates Constitutional Changes for Post-2016 Elections as Opposition Campaigns for Rival Bill
The Georgian Dream ruling coalition has initiated constitutional changes to scrap the majoritarian component of the electoral system for the elections that will be held after the 2016 parliamentary polls.
Meanwhile, a group of parliamentary and non-parliamentary opposition parties are launching a campaign to collect the signatures of 200,000 citizens required for initiating a rival bill for constitutional changes to scrap the majoritarian part of the electoral system before the 2016 parliamentary elections.
But none of the two initiatives are likely to be passed as no constitutional amendment can be adopted by the sitting parliament without support of both parliamentary majority and minority groups.
The GD ruling coalition has 86 seats in 150-member parliament, 27 short of the three-fourths super-majority required to pass a constitutional amendment.
Georgia currently has a mixed system in which 73 lawmakers are elected in 73 majoritarian, single-mandate constituencies through plurality vote, and rest 77 seats are allocated proportionally under the party-list contest among political parties, which clear 5% threshold.
According to the GD-proposed bill of constitutional amendments, the majoritarian component of the system should be scrapped by the time of the elections, which will be held after the 2016 parliamentary polls – that is by 2020, in case there are no early elections. The parliament, according to the proposal, should be entirely elected through proportional system in multiple-member voting districts. The bill also envisages lowing electoral threshold from 5 to 4%. (Civil.ge)
Georgian police officer leads European Touring Car Cup
A Georgian police officer is making a name for himself in motorsport.
Officer Davit Kajaia, who is the member of the Interior Ministry Force Sport Club, has retained his lead in European Touring Car Cup (ETCC) Championship, based on his results of the first four rounds of six that make up the championship.
After four races Kajaia has 92 points while his nearest rival from Turkey has 58 points.
Kajaia won first place in the TC2T category during the fourth stage, which took place on September 5-6 in the Czech Republic.
The Georgian man was welcomed home at Tbilisi International Airport by officials of the Service Agency, Interior Ministry, other sportsmen and fans.
This was the first time any Georgian sportsman has participated in the ETCC.
The Ministry, and Kajaia’s earlier racing results, showed that the Georgian driver was a confident leader among other racers.
The ETCC Championship is held in six stages; the first four have already been held. Races are hosted in motordromes in Hungary, Slovakia, France, the Czech, Belgium and Italy.
Looking ahead racers will line up in Belgium and Italy for the remaining two competition stages. The race in Italy is scheduled for September 10-11, while the Belgium race will take place on September 19-20. (Agenda.ge)
I have a suspicion that Imedi TV carried out political orders - Inga Grigolia
“I have a suspicion that the Imedi TV company has carried out a political order given by Bidzina Ivanishvili,” said journalist Inga Grigolia on Rustavi 2 TV when commenting on the recent unexpected closure of her talk show.
According to her, the abovementioned was part of a big plan. "It is a pity that Imedi TV could so easily give up political talk shows. I think that it was all part of a big plan. We are all very well aware of the Kobuleti seaside meetings, where this so-called group was giving advice to Ivanishvili.
By the way, this group includes my former friends, and as I learned these meetings discussed the issue of talk shows, including my programs. What is this, where is this country headed?!" Grigolia angrily asked.
In addition, according to the journalist, the first person whom she informed of the closure of her program was the President.
"Giorgi Margvelashvili was the first person who I spoke to. As soon as I found about this decision, I wrote to him. He was very surprised and said the decision was unacceptable,” said Grigolia.
According to her, she is not going to receive compensation from Imedi TV because of termination of the contract. (IPN)
The ropeway connecting Rike Park and Narikala Fortress will not function for ten days due to a scheduled inspection.
According to City Hall, the cable systematically undergoes technical inspection in order to ensure safe movement of passengers.
The cable road will not function from September 10 to 20.
"The ropeway between Rike Park and Narikala has been operating since 2012, transporting a daily average of 2 500 passengers. It was built in accordance with international standards, and systematic examination is one of the main conditions for maintenance of safety norms,” says Tbilisi City Hall. (IPN)
GD Initiates Constitutional Changes for Post-2016 Elections as Opposition Campaigns for Rival Bill
The Georgian Dream ruling coalition has initiated constitutional changes to scrap the majoritarian component of the electoral system for the elections that will be held after the 2016 parliamentary polls.
Meanwhile, a group of parliamentary and non-parliamentary opposition parties are launching a campaign to collect the signatures of 200,000 citizens required for initiating a rival bill for constitutional changes to scrap the majoritarian part of the electoral system before the 2016 parliamentary elections.
But none of the two initiatives are likely to be passed as no constitutional amendment can be adopted by the sitting parliament without support of both parliamentary majority and minority groups.
The GD ruling coalition has 86 seats in 150-member parliament, 27 short of the three-fourths super-majority required to pass a constitutional amendment.
Georgia currently has a mixed system in which 73 lawmakers are elected in 73 majoritarian, single-mandate constituencies through plurality vote, and rest 77 seats are allocated proportionally under the party-list contest among political parties, which clear 5% threshold.
According to the GD-proposed bill of constitutional amendments, the majoritarian component of the system should be scrapped by the time of the elections, which will be held after the 2016 parliamentary polls – that is by 2020, in case there are no early elections. The parliament, according to the proposal, should be entirely elected through proportional system in multiple-member voting districts. The bill also envisages lowing electoral threshold from 5 to 4%. (Civil.ge)
Georgian police officer leads European Touring Car Cup
A Georgian police officer is making a name for himself in motorsport.
Officer Davit Kajaia, who is the member of the Interior Ministry Force Sport Club, has retained his lead in European Touring Car Cup (ETCC) Championship, based on his results of the first four rounds of six that make up the championship.
After four races Kajaia has 92 points while his nearest rival from Turkey has 58 points.
Kajaia won first place in the TC2T category during the fourth stage, which took place on September 5-6 in the Czech Republic.
The Georgian man was welcomed home at Tbilisi International Airport by officials of the Service Agency, Interior Ministry, other sportsmen and fans.
This was the first time any Georgian sportsman has participated in the ETCC.
The Ministry, and Kajaia’s earlier racing results, showed that the Georgian driver was a confident leader among other racers.
The ETCC Championship is held in six stages; the first four have already been held. Races are hosted in motordromes in Hungary, Slovakia, France, the Czech, Belgium and Italy.
Looking ahead racers will line up in Belgium and Italy for the remaining two competition stages. The race in Italy is scheduled for September 10-11, while the Belgium race will take place on September 19-20. (Agenda.ge)
I have a suspicion that Imedi TV carried out political orders - Inga Grigolia
“I have a suspicion that the Imedi TV company has carried out a political order given by Bidzina Ivanishvili,” said journalist Inga Grigolia on Rustavi 2 TV when commenting on the recent unexpected closure of her talk show.
According to her, the abovementioned was part of a big plan. "It is a pity that Imedi TV could so easily give up political talk shows. I think that it was all part of a big plan. We are all very well aware of the Kobuleti seaside meetings, where this so-called group was giving advice to Ivanishvili.
By the way, this group includes my former friends, and as I learned these meetings discussed the issue of talk shows, including my programs. What is this, where is this country headed?!" Grigolia angrily asked.
In addition, according to the journalist, the first person whom she informed of the closure of her program was the President.
"Giorgi Margvelashvili was the first person who I spoke to. As soon as I found about this decision, I wrote to him. He was very surprised and said the decision was unacceptable,” said Grigolia.
According to her, she is not going to receive compensation from Imedi TV because of termination of the contract. (IPN)