Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) considers appointment of two new members to the High Council of Justice by the Conference of Judges ahead of time as another manipulation of clan governance. “Observation on the process of election of judge members to the Council shows that, as a rule, only representatives of an influential group of judges, or people trusted by them, have an opportunity to work at this institution. The influential group appoints acceptable, loyal judges to strategic, important positions, which fact contributes to further enhancement of the already entrenched informal hierarchy”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Kakheti. USAID/Zrda supported Pankisi Valley Tourism and Development Association in creation of Pankisi Valley Travel Guide. Brochures were created for showcasing the abundance of natural and cultural assets Pankisi and the Kists have to offer. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Part of civil society organizations in Georgia responds to the process of the 2021 municipal elections. “In terms of technical administration, the Election Day was conducted mostly in accordance with rules established by law. However, irregularities detected by local and international observation missions during the pre-election period, as well as in the processes of voting on the Election Day and vote counting had an unequivocally negative impact on expression of free will of voters and public confidence in the electoral process and election results. Given slight differences in numbers of ballots in some municipalities, these irregularities could affect final results.  It is unfortunate that problems related to facts of misuse of administrative resources, dismissals on political grounds, use of public servants for electoral purposes and pressure-intimidation are still topical in the context of the pre-election period and the Election Day. Regrettably, local elections conducted with low democratic standards may cause further deepening of polarization within society”... Read more… Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. The participants of the workshop held within the joint academic program of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and the University of Georgia (UG) were awarded with the certificates. “The short-term, skills-oriented practical course: "What is disinformation and what can I do about it?" was held daily during the week of October 25-29. The participants had the opportunity to get acquainted with the strategies of disinformation verification, modern ways of disseminating disinformation and discuss the ways of contributing to debunking disinformation by journalists and civilians”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. OSCE/ODIHR and European Parliament releases the statement on the second round of the Georgian Local Government Election. “The second round of the local elections was generally well administered but continued polarization coupled with escalation of negative rhetoric adversely affected the process. The campaign was competitive and had a prominent national focus, overshadowing local issues. Candidates were generally able to campaign freely, but allegations of intimidation and pressure on voters persisted. Sharp imbalances in resources, and an undue advantage of incumbency further benefited the ruling party and tilted the playing field. Election day was generally calm and well administered, with a few instances of confrontation and mutual provocations between party supporters outside polling stations. Despite recent legislative amendments banning gatherings within 100 meters of a polling station, IEOM observers noted the presence, at times intimidating, of groups of individuals in the immediate surroundings of 29 per cent of the polling stations visited”. Read more… Source: www.osce.org

Tbilisi. The European Union commends once more the voters, the electoral staff and local observers for all their efforts and engagement amid the COVID-19 pandemic. „We warmly welcome the International Election Observation Mission carried out by the OSCE ODIHR and the European Parliament also for this second round. While this mission again concluded that the elections were generally well administered and that the campaign was competitive, it also observed an escalation of negative rhetoric, persistent allegations of intimidation and pressure on voters and sharp imbalances in resources, which benefited the ruling party and tilted the playing field. Following the first round, we stated that the reported malpractices must not become a norm in Georgia. We deplore that these elections have been a missed opportunity in this respect. Despite a clear assessment by the international observers, meaningful steps were not taken to address key shortcomings. On the contrary, further shortcomings have emerged, especially in terms of misuse of administrative resources and violent rhetoric by Georgia’s political leaders, further fuelling an already deep political polarisation. Suggestions made before these elections that the central government would not cooperate with local councils, should they swing towards another majority, are of concern as they seek to restrict the electorate’s choice and to limit pluralism”. Read more… Source: eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary believes that in the current situation, the election of a judge member/s of the High Council of Justice by the Judicial Conference is unjustified. “The XXX Conference of Judges is scheduled for October 31, 2021. According to the agenda, the Conference should elect a judge member/members of the High Council of Justice of Georgia (HCOJ). It should be noted that none of the HCOJ members’ term has expired, and no information on the early termination of a member’s term has been made public. Consequently, it is still unknown which member is leaving the Council and for what reasons”. Read more… Source: coalition.ge

Tbilisi. According to information released by the United Nations Children’s Fund, more than 1500 adolescents from 14 to 17 years of age from public schools across Georgia, their parents and teachers will benefit from a new initiative led by the organization in collaboration with “Gambling Research and Ludomania Prevention Center” as well as with the Ministry of Education and Science. "The purpose of the initiative is to prevent the onset of at-risk gambling behavior and maintain adolescents at the healthy end of the continuum through face to face training sessions, public events and social media”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes a blog post: Donations received by political parties: Statistics and cases containing corruption risks. “From January 1 through October 25, 2021, 25 political parties received donations in the total amount of GEL 23 227 322, of which 71% - GEL 16 585 660 went to Georgian Dream, the second was Lelo with the amount of GEL 2 330 556, while the third - United National Movement with the amount of GEL 2 212 912. Legal entities that are donors of the ruling party and companies associated with contributing individuals won state tenders worth approximately GEL 155 million and received simplified public procurement contracts of the GEL 6 million value in total in 2021. Within the same period, these companies and donors, directly or indirectly affiliated with them, contributed up to GEL 3 million in favor of Georgian Dream”, - is stated in the blog post. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. ISFED has presented the fourth interim report on social media monitoring. “It describes activities of Facebook pages of political parties participating in the elections and mayoral candidates of municipalities, as well as results of observation on anonymous and open Facebook pages operating for political and elections purposes, and other important trends”. Read more… Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. With the assistance of “Rights Georgia”, Armenian citizen was granted the right to a permanent residence permit. The Public Service Development Agency issued an ID card (Permanent residence permit) on October 25. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

The web portal CsoGeorgia.org releases a weekly newsletter of grants competition, contests, vacancies, fellowships, and tenders for civil society organizations, and for any interested person. Newsletter...

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) has prepared the 3rd interim report of the long-term observation mission for the 2021 local self-government elections. According to the report: “Allegedly politically motivated acts of violence, committed both before and after October 2, still remain a challenge. In the pre-election period of the second round, GYLA described two cases of interference into the pre-election campaign carried out by political parties. Within the reporting period, there were revealed facts of damage to agitation material of both the ruling party and the opposition”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Imereti. Local Democracy Agency Georgia, within the framework of the project "Civil Society Initiative", provided consultations to representatives of civil society and community organizations in Tkibuli municipalitiy. The meetings is being organized by LDA Georgia within the framework of the project "Civil Society Initiative", with the support of the European Union and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Read more… Source: The organizations page on the social network

Tbilisi. Media Advocacy Coalition member organizations call on the Government of Georgia to provide explanations in regard to the refusal to let Ukrainian journalists enter Georgia. “According to information released on October 27, 2021, Dmitry Gordon, a Ukrainian journalist, and his wife Alecia Batsman, an editor, were not allowed to enter Georgia. Dmitri Gordon links the refusal to enter Georgia with his intention to meet Mikheil Saakashvili, former President of Georgia, who is currently in prison”. Read more... Source: The website of the Coalition on a social network

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia is deeply concerned about the obstruction of the entry of Ukrainian Ombudsman Liudmyla Denisova to Georgia on October 26, 2021. “According to Liudmyla Denisova, when crossing the state border of Georgia, she provided detailed information about her identity and purpose of her trip, as well as a diplomatic travel document, to the representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. Despite this, she was delayed at the border for about 40 minutes, without being informed of the reason of delay. She was let in Georgia only after border guards obtained consent from their superiors. The Ombudsman of Ukraine also points to an unfriendly and cynical attitude by the law enforcement officials”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Social Justice Center, in collaboration with ILGA-Europe, an organization working on LGBTI rights, addressed the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in writing and provided news about the situation related to fundamental rights of LGBT people. “The report critically describes attempts of the state to legitimatize violent acts committed by far-right radical groups and its vicious practice of ineffective investigation of particularly serious and high-profile homo/transphobic crimes, which facts create a sense of tolerance and impunity of such crimes within society”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. Green Step implements the project “WIN” and plans to involve in it more than 50 women struggling to establish themselves in the labor market. The project is funded by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Polish Aid - "Polska Pomoc Rozwojowa 2021". The aim of the project is to help them enhance their various business opportunities and connect to an international network. The main topics of the seminar series will be: - Labor market trends in Georgia; - Sources of business financing and ways to find them; - Create your own brand; - Compiling an effective resume, etc. For more information contact to the organization: greenstepngo@gmail.com or write on the Facebook page Women Innovation Network - WIN in Georgia Registration link… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Green Alternative and the Social Justice Center submit an administrative complaint to the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, demanding annulment of licenses for mining of minerals issued to extract manganese in the village of Shkmeri in Oni Municipality. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG) presents “Crowdfunding Events Guide”, published by the organization. “The publication incorporates information about crowdfunding models and its concept. Online version of the guide... The guide has been published by the CSRDG within the framework of the “Civil Society Initiative” project with the support of the European Union and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) presents an analysis of administrative expenditures envisaged by the 2022 draft budget, which reveals that there are no significant changes intended in terms of bureaucratic expenditures in 2022. “It is noteworthy that, despite the annual increase in labor costs, provision of a fair and competitive remuneration system for civil servants remains a significant problem”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Part of civil society organizations in Georgia respond to developments occurred in regard to hospitalization of Mikheil Saakashvili, the third President. “We call on the authorities to take full account of the conclusion and recommendations of the multifunctional group of doctors and the Public Defender of Georgia when discussing the issue of hospitalization of Mikheil Saakashvili, the third President of Georgia, and to make a decision on hospitalization while making sure that all risks to his life and health, as well as security are completely excluded”. Read more… Source:socialjustice.org.ge