The News in Brief
Monday, September 5
GDDG, Some Donors of Alliance of Patriots and Burchuladze’s Party Face Fines
The State Audit Office, which also monitors political party finances, said it will ask the court to fine a ruling GDDG party member and its affiliated organization with GEL 4,000 each for allegedly illegal donations.
Citing violations of party funding rules, the State Audit agency will also seek to fine one donor of the Alliance of Patriots with GEL 183,200 and four donors of the State for People party led by opera singer Paata Burchuladze with a total of GEL 39,000.
The State Audit agency said that a member of Tbilisi City Council (Sakrebulo) from the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia (GDDG) ruling party, Rima Beradze, and a group called Georgian Dream-Healthy Future organized medical examinations free of charge for about 40 public school teachers with total worth of GEL 2,000. The State Audit Office said it considers the event was carried out for the purpose of giving political benefit to the party in the electoral campaign period and asked the court to fine Beridze and Georgian Dream-Healthy Future with GEL 4,000 each.
Rima Beradze said she disagrees with the State Audit agency’s findings and will dispute them in court.
In respect of the Alliance of Patriots, the State Audit agency claims that donations to the amount of GEL 91,600, which were formally registered as coming from several individuals, was in fact originating from a single source. The agency said that in order to bypass the limit of GEL 60,000 donations, one of the members of the Alliance of Patriots gave money to several other individuals to then donateto the Alliance of Patriots. The State Audit agency is requesting that the court fine the donor with GEL 183,200, twice the amount of the sum involved in the alleged illegal donation.
In respect of Burchuladze’s State for People, the state audit agency claims the party received “illegal donations” from four individuals of GEL 19,500 each. The agency suspects that donations were in fact made from other sources, as the four individuals in question did not have enough income to donate such a large amount of money to the party.
The State for People denies any wrongdoing. “It [the State Audit agency’s decision] aims at scaring off potential donors from donating funds to the party,” said Davit Jandieri of the State for People party.
Georgia’s political party funding rules, which were eased in 2013, allows corporate donations – legal entities, including companies - to donate s maximum of GEL 120,000 annually to political parties.
Donations from individual citizens are capped at GEL 60,000 annually.
In theperiod from June 8 - when election campaigning formally started - to August 8, the GDDG ruling party reported a total of GEL 4.9 million in financial donations.
The ruling party is followed by the State for People with total of GEL 1.3 million donations in the same period.
New Political Center-Girchi and New Georgia, which are united in the election bloc with the State for People party since August 18, raised GEL 159,997 and GEL 253,379 respectively between June and early August.
The Alliance of Patriots raised GEL 399,982 and United National Movement (UNM) GEL 122,230 in the period between June 8 and August 8.
(Civil.ge)
One dead, one injured in assassination in central Tbilisi
One man was killed and another injured in an execution style shooting in central Tbilisi on Friday.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested a man born in 1981 who is charged with premeditated murder and illegally carrying a weapon.
The accused fired multiple shots at two men who were seated in a car in the Vake district, killing one of them.
The perpetrator immediately went into hiding, but was soon arrested. The police also found his gun.
A video from the surveillance camera was posted online showing the cold-blooded attack.
A black car drives past some traffic lights and is approached by a man who shoots several times, then comes closer to the driver and fires more shots.
The shooter appears to be wearing a cloth around his head and is moving quickly around the front of the car, shooting toward the front seats from different angles.
The deceased Soso Jokhadze is known to the public and has prior convictions. He is the brother of a known mafia boss.
A lawyer, Zakaria Chibukhashvili, was injured but survived. He was taken to the Republican Hospital. He is in a serious condition with injuries in the chest region.
Jokhadze’s body is now at the National Forensic Bureau.
(DF WATCH)
Sequence numbers of election subjects were defined at the CEC meeting
“On September 2, at a meeting of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia, sequence numbers of election subjects were defined for the upcoming parliamentary elections,” reads a statement released by the CEC.
As reported, 26 election subjects were granted with the following sequence numbers as a result of casting lots:
No2 “Progressive Democratic Movement ("From You, For You, With You!”)”
No4 "Jondo Baghaturia - KartuliDasi"
No6 "Usupashvili - Republicans"
No7 "Tamaz Mechiauri for United Georgia”
No9 "New Political Center - Girchi"
No10 “Shalva Natelashvili - Labour Party of Georgia”
No11 "People's Authority"
No12 "Communist Party of Georgia – Stalinists” (Ivane Tsiklauri)”
No13 “European Democrats"
No14 "Davit Tevzadze - For Georgia's Peace”
No15 “Labour Socialist Party”
No16 “Unified Communist Party of Georgia”
No17 "Sakartvelo”
No18 "Georgian Idea"
No19 Election bloc – “Topadze - Industrials, Our Fatherland”
No20 “The National Unity Party of Georgia”
No21 “Conservative (Monarchistic) Party of Georgia”
No22 “Merab Kosatava Society”
No23 Election bloc – “Our People, Peoples Party”
No24 "Giorgi Laghidze - Future Georgia"
No25 “Kakha Dzagania, Soso Shatberashvili, Paata Jibladze, Archil Benidze - Left-Wing Alliance”
No26 “National Forum”
No27 "Irakli Alasania - Free Democrats"
No28 "Road of Zviadi - On the Name of Lord"
No29 "National - Democratic Party"
No30 "Our Georgia" (Badri Patarkatsishvili Election Headquarter)
Except the above mentioned subjects, the sequence number for five election subjects remained the same:
No1 Election bloc - "Paata Burchuladze - State for People
No3 Election bloc – “Nino Burjanadze - Democratic Movement”
No5 Election bloc “United National Movement”
No8 Election bloc "Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi, Irma Inashvili - Alliance of Patriots of Georgia, United Opposition"
No41 "Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia”
(ipn)
The State Audit Office, which also monitors political party finances, said it will ask the court to fine a ruling GDDG party member and its affiliated organization with GEL 4,000 each for allegedly illegal donations.
Citing violations of party funding rules, the State Audit agency will also seek to fine one donor of the Alliance of Patriots with GEL 183,200 and four donors of the State for People party led by opera singer Paata Burchuladze with a total of GEL 39,000.
The State Audit agency said that a member of Tbilisi City Council (Sakrebulo) from the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia (GDDG) ruling party, Rima Beradze, and a group called Georgian Dream-Healthy Future organized medical examinations free of charge for about 40 public school teachers with total worth of GEL 2,000. The State Audit Office said it considers the event was carried out for the purpose of giving political benefit to the party in the electoral campaign period and asked the court to fine Beridze and Georgian Dream-Healthy Future with GEL 4,000 each.
Rima Beradze said she disagrees with the State Audit agency’s findings and will dispute them in court.
In respect of the Alliance of Patriots, the State Audit agency claims that donations to the amount of GEL 91,600, which were formally registered as coming from several individuals, was in fact originating from a single source. The agency said that in order to bypass the limit of GEL 60,000 donations, one of the members of the Alliance of Patriots gave money to several other individuals to then donateto the Alliance of Patriots. The State Audit agency is requesting that the court fine the donor with GEL 183,200, twice the amount of the sum involved in the alleged illegal donation.
In respect of Burchuladze’s State for People, the state audit agency claims the party received “illegal donations” from four individuals of GEL 19,500 each. The agency suspects that donations were in fact made from other sources, as the four individuals in question did not have enough income to donate such a large amount of money to the party.
The State for People denies any wrongdoing. “It [the State Audit agency’s decision] aims at scaring off potential donors from donating funds to the party,” said Davit Jandieri of the State for People party.
Georgia’s political party funding rules, which were eased in 2013, allows corporate donations – legal entities, including companies - to donate s maximum of GEL 120,000 annually to political parties.
Donations from individual citizens are capped at GEL 60,000 annually.
In theperiod from June 8 - when election campaigning formally started - to August 8, the GDDG ruling party reported a total of GEL 4.9 million in financial donations.
The ruling party is followed by the State for People with total of GEL 1.3 million donations in the same period.
New Political Center-Girchi and New Georgia, which are united in the election bloc with the State for People party since August 18, raised GEL 159,997 and GEL 253,379 respectively between June and early August.
The Alliance of Patriots raised GEL 399,982 and United National Movement (UNM) GEL 122,230 in the period between June 8 and August 8.
(Civil.ge)
One dead, one injured in assassination in central Tbilisi
One man was killed and another injured in an execution style shooting in central Tbilisi on Friday.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested a man born in 1981 who is charged with premeditated murder and illegally carrying a weapon.
The accused fired multiple shots at two men who were seated in a car in the Vake district, killing one of them.
The perpetrator immediately went into hiding, but was soon arrested. The police also found his gun.
A video from the surveillance camera was posted online showing the cold-blooded attack.
A black car drives past some traffic lights and is approached by a man who shoots several times, then comes closer to the driver and fires more shots.
The shooter appears to be wearing a cloth around his head and is moving quickly around the front of the car, shooting toward the front seats from different angles.
The deceased Soso Jokhadze is known to the public and has prior convictions. He is the brother of a known mafia boss.
A lawyer, Zakaria Chibukhashvili, was injured but survived. He was taken to the Republican Hospital. He is in a serious condition with injuries in the chest region.
Jokhadze’s body is now at the National Forensic Bureau.
(DF WATCH)
Sequence numbers of election subjects were defined at the CEC meeting
“On September 2, at a meeting of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia, sequence numbers of election subjects were defined for the upcoming parliamentary elections,” reads a statement released by the CEC.
As reported, 26 election subjects were granted with the following sequence numbers as a result of casting lots:
No2 “Progressive Democratic Movement ("From You, For You, With You!”)”
No4 "Jondo Baghaturia - KartuliDasi"
No6 "Usupashvili - Republicans"
No7 "Tamaz Mechiauri for United Georgia”
No9 "New Political Center - Girchi"
No10 “Shalva Natelashvili - Labour Party of Georgia”
No11 "People's Authority"
No12 "Communist Party of Georgia – Stalinists” (Ivane Tsiklauri)”
No13 “European Democrats"
No14 "Davit Tevzadze - For Georgia's Peace”
No15 “Labour Socialist Party”
No16 “Unified Communist Party of Georgia”
No17 "Sakartvelo”
No18 "Georgian Idea"
No19 Election bloc – “Topadze - Industrials, Our Fatherland”
No20 “The National Unity Party of Georgia”
No21 “Conservative (Monarchistic) Party of Georgia”
No22 “Merab Kosatava Society”
No23 Election bloc – “Our People, Peoples Party”
No24 "Giorgi Laghidze - Future Georgia"
No25 “Kakha Dzagania, Soso Shatberashvili, Paata Jibladze, Archil Benidze - Left-Wing Alliance”
No26 “National Forum”
No27 "Irakli Alasania - Free Democrats"
No28 "Road of Zviadi - On the Name of Lord"
No29 "National - Democratic Party"
No30 "Our Georgia" (Badri Patarkatsishvili Election Headquarter)
Except the above mentioned subjects, the sequence number for five election subjects remained the same:
No1 Election bloc - "Paata Burchuladze - State for People
No3 Election bloc – “Nino Burjanadze - Democratic Movement”
No5 Election bloc “United National Movement”
No8 Election bloc "Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi, Irma Inashvili - Alliance of Patriots of Georgia, United Opposition"
No41 "Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia”
(ipn)