Court sends one to prison for disobeying order of police at Tbilisi Rally, November 28
28 have been detained while three others have received injuries, the Georgian Interior Ministry reports. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Tbilisi City Court has sentenced member of the Shecvale (change) youth movement, Beka Papashvili to five days in administrative detention since he had been arrested at a protest rally near the Tbilisi Parliament building on November 28.
Tbilisi City court says that Beka Papashvili was sentenced for five days in jail for ‘disobeying a lawful order of police officer’.
Police dispersed a rally near the parliament on November 26.
28 individuals have been detained while three others have received injuries, the Georgian Interior Ministry reports.
Law enforcers used water cannons to open the entrances of the legislative body which were blocked by opposition and demonstrators protesting the rejection of an election reform bill on November 14.
Rallies in Tbilisi were sparked after the bill on the transition to a fully proportional electoral system starting 2020 instead of 2024 was rejected on November 14 as 40 MPs of the ruling party refused to vote for the bill proposed by their own party.
The diplomatic corps in Georgia has offered to orchestrate a meeting between the ruling party and the opposition which may take place early tomorrow, former Parliament Speaker, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party MP Irakli Kobakhidze has stated. The EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell says that “he is happy” the meeting will take place.
Police have dispersed a rally near the parliament building at 5 a.m. earlier today. 28 individuals have been detained while three others have received injuries, the Georgian Interior Ministry reports. Law enforcers used water cannons to open the entrances of the legislative body which were blocked by the opposition and demonstrators protesting the rejection of an election reform bill on November 14.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party proposed bill on holding of 2020 parliamentary elections with a fully proportional voting system and a zero threshold has been scrapped as 101 MPs instead of mandatory 113 voted for it. 141 of total 150 MPs have been registered for the vote earlier today. However, 37 abstained from voting and three voted against.
Voting on a bill proposed by the Georgian Dream (GD) ruling party to change the electoral system to a fully proportional one starting from 2020 instead of 2024 has been postponed as the GD requested this. The vote will take place tomorrow as the ruling party needs another meeting “to assure” several of its MPs to vote for the bill.
MP of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party Akaki Zoidze, who chaired the Healthcare Committee in parliament, has announced he is leaving the ruling party and politics, citing the rejection of the GD-proposed election bill as the reason.
The European Georgia parliamentary opposition party has requested a permission from Tbilisi City Hall to renew protests in the capital around the issue of 2020 parliamentary elections, sparked after parliament rejected an early transition to a fully-proportional electoral system last year.