Connect with us

Georgia

Georgia Votes in Crucial Test for Democracy, EU Ambitions

Published

on

Georgia Votes in Crucial Test for Democracy, EU Ambitions


Georgians began voting on Saturday in watershed elections widely seen as decisive for the fate of the country’s fledgling democracy and European aspirations.

The parliamentary elections pit an unprecedented union of pro-Western opposition forces against a ruling party accused of democratic backsliding and shifting towards Russia. 

Brussels has warned that the vote will determine European Union candidate Tbilisi’s chances of joining the bloc.

Advertisement

Opinion polls indicate opposition parties could get enough votes to form a coalition government to supplant the ruling Georgian Dream party, controlled by powerful billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.

“Georgia’s traditionally fractured opposition forces have managed to forge an unprecedented united front against Georgian Dream,” said analyst Gela Vasadze at Georgia’s Strategic Analysis Centre.

“But if the ruling party attempts to stay in power regardless of the election outcome, then there is the risk of post-electoral turmoil.”

Georgian Dream says it wants to win a supermajority that will allow it to pass a constitutional ban on all major opposition parties.

In power since 2012, the party initially pursued a liberal pro-Western policy agenda. But over the last two years the party has reversed course.

Advertisement

Its campaign has centered on a conspiracy theory about a “global war party” that controls Western institutions and is seeking to drag Georgia into the Russia-Ukraine war.

Other Topics of Interest

Lukashenko: Russian Annexation of Belarus Means War

The Belarusian leader’s comments to Russian media were in response to a question concerning the challenges the Union State of Russia and Belarus is facing.

Advertisement

In a country still scarred by Russia’s 2008 invasion, the party has offered voters bogeyman stories about an imminent threat of war, which only Georgian Dream could prevent.

In a recent TV interview, Ivanishvili painted a grotesque image of the West where “orgies are taking place right in the streets.”

‘Crucial test’

On Wednesday, Georgian Dream bussed tens of thousands of people from across the country to a campaign rally in Tbilisi where Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze vowed to lead Georgia toward EU membership.

At the same time, he accused EU leaders of “injustice, the rejection of Christian dogmas, LGBT propaganda, and disrespect for others’ sovereignty.”

Advertisement

Last Sunday, tens of thousands of Georgians staged a pro-Europe rally in the capital.

Georgian Dream’s passage of a controversial “foreign influence” law this spring, targeting civil society, sparked weeks of mass street protests and was criticized as a Kremlin-style measure to silence dissent.

The move prompted Brussels to freeze Georgia’s EU accession process, while Washington imposed sanctions on dozens of Georgian officials.

Earlier this month, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell cautioned that Georgian Dream’s actions “signal a shift towards authoritarianism.”

He branded the upcoming polls “a crucial test for democracy in Georgia and its European Union path.”

Advertisement

The Kremlin on Friday blasted “unprecedented attempts at Western interference” in the vote, accusing it of “trying to twist Tbilisi’s hand” and “dictate terms.”

Kobakhidze has said that ties with the West will normalize once the Ukraine war ends.

Undecided voters

The latest polls show that the opposition is poised to garner enough ballots to take power.

The potential coalition grouping includes Georgia’s main opposition force, jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement (UNM) and Akhali, a recently formed party headed by former UNM leaders.

Advertisement

Along with several smaller parties, they have signed up to a pro-European policy platform outlining far-reaching electoral, judicial and law enforcement reforms.

They have agreed to form an interim multi-party government to advance the reforms – if they command enough seats in parliament – before calling fresh elections.

Nestled between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, Georgia was once considered a rare example of a democracy among ex-Soviet nations.

But elections in the country of some four million regularly spark mass protests.

A poll conducted by US pollster Edison Research shortly before the elections showed 34% of decided voters would cast their ballots for Georgian Dream, while the four opposition alliances combined are set to garner 53% of the vote.

Advertisement

No other party is expected to clear the five-percent electoral threshold needed to secure seats in the 150-member legislature.

But the outcome of the vote is far from a foregone conclusion, as more than a quarter of respondents told the pollster they were either undecided or refused to name their preferred political force.

Voting, which started at 0400 GMT, ends at 1600 GMT, with exit polls set to be released on closing.

The elections, held under a proportional party list system, will be monitored by international observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.



Source link

Advertisement

Georgia

Georgia OC Mike Bobo gets giant pay raise, salary matches DC Glenn Schumann

Published

on

Georgia OC Mike Bobo gets giant pay raise, salary matches DC Glenn Schumann


Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann will be paid equally in 2026 after receiving raises, according to an Athens Banner-Herald report.

Coach Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are coming off a second consecutive SEC championship season and College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl quarterfinal appearance.

lliw ot eht eht ees .nosaes nosaes deviecer yap raey-eno noillim noillim edam tsal esaercni sih eh morf rof noisnetxe tcartnoc dna a oboB 6202 )%64( 2.2$ 305.1$

saw ot tes suoiverp rep ekam ni ni sih ,noisnetxe tcartnoc .yluJ ,oboB 6202 306.1$

Advertisement

.raey htiw ,raey-eerht eht eht taht yldetroper rep evisneffo noillim noillim si ni diap-tsehgih rotanidrooc tcartnoc segareva a sieW CES s’USL .rJ eilrahC 5.7$ 5.2$

hcihw saw pot ot emit driht eht eht eht eht s’noitan ni eh sah seog rof rof tsilanif tsilanif .hcaoc reerac neeb ,drawa tnatsissa a a s’tI selyorB s’oboB oboB .drawA 5202

eerht eht eht gnitrats .sretrats htxis ,gnirocs deknar kcabretrauq stniop rep evisneffo esneffo wen noitan enil ni ni ni ,emag raey-tsrif gnirutaef dniheb gnigareva dna dna na ehT notkcotS CES rennuG ’sgodlluB 1.23 ht82

gnitov rednu siht eht htneves .nosaes ni dehsinif noitcerid yhporT notkcotS namsieH s’oboB

enoz htiw saw deit deit nwod-driht driht eht eht eht gnirocs der yalp egatnecrep egatnecrep egatnecrep fo noitan noitan noitan ni ni ni ni ni .)slaog nwod-htruof rof rof dleif noisrevnoc noisrevnoc ,gnillac tub dna dna ,osla AGU s’oboB dn23 ,02 ht01 )057. snwodhcuot( 51(

Advertisement

lliw pu ot nosaes noillim noillim tsal og morf tcartnoc osla s’nnamuhcS .)%01( 2.2$ 300.2$

ot taht taht gnitrats tes deviecer esiar ylsuoiverp ylsuoiverp noillim ekam ekil dedulcni mih dah dah rotalacse esualc a a ,nnamuhcS yluJ ,oboB .1 301.2$ 000,001$

sdray siht eht eht dnoces gnidne-nosaes ,nosaes gnirocs deknar stniop stniop rep noitan ssol ni ni ni ni ni ,emag retrauq-htruof neve esnefed dna dna gniwolla gniwolla retfa a CES .snaelrO elO weN ssiM aigroeG 374 ,43-93 02 75.71 ht01

.raey htiw ot raey-eerht eht taht taht noitisop rep diap noillim si ni tsehgih evisnefed rotanidrooc tcartnoc hcaoc deveileb eb segareva a lliW ’saxeT pmahcsuM 8.2$



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Georgia

Georgia Lt. Gov. announces bill inspired by Charlie Kirk to protect student speech

Published

on

Georgia Lt. Gov. announces bill inspired by Charlie Kirk to protect student speech


Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones on Monday unveiled legislation inspired by the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk that he says would expand students’ free speech rights in public schools, making Georgia the first state in the nation to pursue such a measure.

Jones announced the “True Patriotism and Universal Student Access Act,” known as the TPUSA Act, on Monday as a priority for the 2026 legislative session. The proposal, sponsored by State Sen. Ben Watson (R–Savannah), would strengthen First Amendment protections for public school students by safeguarding their right to speak, organize, and express political and religious views on campus.

The bill is explicitly shaped around the work and legacy of Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA and its political arm, Turning Point Action. Jones and others have framed the legislation as a way to honor Kirk’s efforts to mobilize young conservatives and defend free speech in schools and on college campuses.

“In the spirit and memory of Charlie’s work, the TPUSA Act in Georgia would ensure that students’ First Amendment rights to organize, gather and speak are protected, regardless of their religious, political, or social viewpoints,” Jones said in a press release. “Georgia is leading the way as the first state in the nation to do it.”

Advertisement

Founder and President of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk speaks during the Turning Point Believers Summit at the Palm Beach County Civic Center on July 26, 2024. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Miami Herald


Jones, who is running for governor and is endorsed by both former President Donald Trump and Turning Point Action, also emphasized his broader commitment to free speech rights as part of his campaign rhetoric. 

“Georgia is building on the work of Charlie Kirk to ensure students can speak, organize and express their beliefs freely,” Jones posted on social media. 

Advertisement

The TPUSA Act would require public schools in Georgia to permit political expression before, during and after the school day to the same extent that non-political expression is allowed. It also would let students form political clubs and groups during non-instructional time, bar discrimination against groups based on viewpoint, and guarantee that students could wear politically themed clothing and accessories under the same standards that apply to other permitted attire.

Supporters say the legislation would ensure that school administrators cannot block students from engaging in peaceful political activities and that all viewpoints, partisan and nonpartisan, would have equal access to meeting spaces and facilities.

Sen. Watson said the move reflects the belief that schools should not restrict students’ free speech or prohibit them from organizing around their beliefs. 

“School officials should not have the power to enforce their own ideologies on students,” he said.

Josh Thifault, senior director at Turning Point Action, praised Georgia’s effort, asserting that Kirk “lived and died for the First Amendment.” He added that the legislation will benefit students “for decades to come” by removing barriers to student expression.

Advertisement



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Georgia

Georgia lawmakers stall car boot ban, leaving frustrated drivers with no relief from predatory parking enforcement

Published

on

Georgia lawmakers stall car boot ban, leaving frustrated drivers with no relief from predatory parking enforcement


Daryl Terry II had exited a popular wing restaurant, only to discover a heavy metal boot clamped to his car’s wheel. “I think booting should be banned because it’s predatory. You’re preying on people who are just trying to visit business establishments,” Daryl said, shaking his head while holding a $100 boot removal receipt.

Daryl explained that the parking lot was confusing, with faded signs barely visible even in broad daylight. “At night, you can’t see the sign at all,” he said. “By the time I got to my car, there were already two boots on it. The guy told me I left the property and didn’t pay, so he was entitled to boot my car.”

He’s not alone. Maddie Yoder, who works at a nearby bakery, has experienced the same fate. “I’ve worked here for five years. One morning, I quickly grabbed a spot and came back to a boot. The attendant literally waits for people to make a mistake,” she said, pointing out the tricky signage that designates spots for specific businesses.

Both drivers are among many Georgians who hoped a recent State Senate bill would end what they call predatory booting. Democratic State Senator Josh McLaurin, the bill’s sponsor, says the practice is a form of extortion. “Georgia needs to ban the boot. You’re trapped when it happens.”

Advertisement

Despite gaining bipartisan support, the bill was abruptly killed in a procedural move. It was sent to a committee that, due to the chairman’s resignation, couldn’t hold hearings or move bills forward. 

“That committee is essentially dead,” McLaurin explained. Efforts to get comment from the Lt. Governor’s office about the bill’s demise went unanswered.

McLaurin isn’t giving up. He plans to reintroduce the legislation later this session, hopeful that relief is still possible for Georgia drivers. He also points out an inconsistency: “Towing companies in Georgia are regulated and can’t just wait in a lot for you to mess up. Booting, on the other hand, is barely regulated at all.”

For now, drivers like Daryl and Maddie keep a closer eye on the signs—and their wallets—hoping that lawmakers will finally put the brakes on predatory booting.

Advertisement



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending