Day: November 27, 2023
Azerbaijan-US tensions
Tensions persist between Azerbaijan and the United States. The U.S. Embassy canceled a meeting of graduates from American universities scheduled in Baku. This decision comes amid reports circulating in pro-government media, suggesting that the meeting was, “in fact, a gathering of U.S. agents in Azerbaijan.”
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The U.S. Embassy has canceled a scheduled gala meeting with graduates of American universities on November 27 at the Marriott Absheron Hotel in Baku. This decision follows reports from pro-government sources, Baku TV and Qafqazinfo, suggesting that “the embassy intended to organize a meeting with its “spy network,” comprising individuals allegedly “recruited as American agents during the period of study in the United States.”
In response to inquiries from the Turan Agency regarding these allegations and the canceled meeting, the U.S. embassy in Baku provided the following response:
“The embassy was eager to celebrate the anniversaries of our two flagship educational and cultural exchange programs, as well as highlight the achievements of the Azerbaijani community of U.S.-educated alumni and their contributions to their home communities.
These anniversaries added an extra layer of significance to the embassy’s annual alumni event this year. More than 400 guests from diverse backgrounds, including government, education, nonprofit, and the private sector, were expected to attend.
We look forward to rescheduling soon,” reads the embassy’s response.
Some experts provided commentary on the cancellation of the event. For instance, Ilham Ismail, a former lieutenant colonel in the ministry of national security and a security expert, remarked that “the U.S. has agents all over the world, including in Azerbaijan, but meetings with agents are typically kept confidential, and their details are not announced to the press in advance.”
He further explained, “To prevent participants in the agent network from recognizing each other, even two agents cannot meet simultaneously in one place,” as reported by Voice of America.
The analyst also contends that if there is reasonable suspicion that individuals slated to participate in the meeting are agents, these individuals should face charges of treason. Moreover, those with knowledge about such suspicions should report to intelligence services rather than the press.
“While it is possible and necessary to criticize the United States, respond strongly to its biased position, and expose manifestations of double standards with facts, such an unprofessional approach creates the opposite effect,” he emphasized.
It’s worth noting that many individuals, numbering in the thousands, who have received or are currently receiving education in the U.S., did so with the support of the Azerbaijani government. Several years ago, a state program was established to fund the education of young people abroad, with most of them studying in the USA, and their education being financed by the Azerbaijani government.
On November 27, the World Bank issued a report entitled “Middle Trade and Transport Corridor – Policies and Investments to Triple Freight Volumes and Halve Travel Time by 2030”, which focuses on Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia and identifies priority measures that can transform the rail and maritime corridor into a vital and dependable trade route between China and the EU.
The report notes that with the right investments and policies, the Middle Corridor, which links Chinese and European markets via Central Asia and the Caucasus, could triple volumes while halving travel time by 2030.
“Out new data confirms that the Middle Corridor is not only viable but can become essential to the economies of countries along the route,” – said Antonella Bassani, the World Banks’s Deputy President for Europe and Central Asia. She added: “Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, together with other countries, have made considerable progress in aligning their vision and moving this corridor forward. The World Bank is committed to supporting the Middle Corridor in partnership with the governments along the route and other multilateral organizations.”
The report develops the trade model that will increase trade from Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan by 37%, while trade between these three countries and the EU will increase by 28%.
The report identifies key policies and investments needed to respond to the demand for transport and to support economic development in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia, including:
- Providing corridor-length logistics solutions to ensure seamless operations along the corridor;
- Reforming and simplifying processes and procedures, particularly at border crossings, to smooth out exchanges of traffic, data, and characteristic of multimodal corridors.;
- Coordinating digitalization to increase tracking and reduce delays at borders and operational interfaces. A unified, interoperable framework can facilitate digital transformation of processes and activities in the corridor;
- Improving performance at the Caspian and Black Sea crossings, with a focus on removing bottlenecks to vessel availability and improving port productivity;
- Agreeing on a uniform investment prioritizing system. The report identifies a number of investment opportunities that should be further evaluated and prioritized.
Also Read:
A year before the 2024 Parliamentary elections, the Georgian legislative body is rushing through amendments to the electoral code that will allow citizens to vote with the so-called “laminated” IDs, which are outdated and vulnerable to fraud.
What happened?
On November 15, the Georgian Parliament adopted in the first reading the amendments to the Election Code of Georgia, which propose to allow voting with “existing non-electronic identity cards (identity cards that do not contain electronic information).”
The draft law was submitted by Fridon Injia, MP and the chairperson of the “European Socialists” parliamentary group, and it was endorsed by the Georgian Dream parliamentary majority.
“As for Fridon Injia’s initiative, this initiative also allows people with non-electronic IDs to vote. We will support this initiative,” said Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling “Georgian Dream.”
What is the change?
Currently, only Georgian citizens in possession of either an electronic ID card or a Georgian passport are allowed to vote. This was enacted in December 2022, when the Parliament adopted the amendments to switch to the electronic system of voting procedure.
If the law is changed again, people who have only the old-style so-called “laminated” ID cards will also be allowed to vote.
How many people have the so-called “laminated” IDs?
It is unclear how many people currently have only the “laminated” IDs. According to the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA) of Georgia, about 400,000 people had only old-style non-electronic IDs in 2019, however, but this statistic does not mean much today, as their number was expected to decrease since then. Politicians and experts give different figures, ranging from 200,000 to 300,000.
Introduction of electronic IDs in 2011
The introduction of electronic ID cards in Georgia in 2011 was accompanied by controversy and opposition from certain segments of society, ranging from dissatisfaction with the price to concerns related to religious issues. In 2020, the Constitutional Court of Georgia declared inadmissible the lawsuit filed a year earlier against the electronic ID cards.
According to the plaintiffs, the chips contained in the electronic ID cards and passports are a means of total control over people and are related to the biblical prophecy of the Apocalypse. The plaintiffs refused to receive such documents because of their faith, while arguing that leaving them without ID cards and passports would completely isolate them from social life and limit their constitutional rights.
Why might the adoption of the draft law be the problem?
As the amendments to the Electoral Code were adopted in the first reading, politicians from the opposition spectrum, as well as the civil society representatives, expressed their concern about the growing fear of electoral fraud.
Zurab Japaridze, the leader of “Girchi-More Freedom” party, demonstrated in the video how easy it is for those who want to cheat the elections to do so by printing extra ID cards, even at home. He also says that in order to rig the elections, the ruling party needs its own people in the Ministry of Justice and the Central Election Commission (CEC), which he says they have.
What problem does the draft law claim to solve?
The Explanatory Note to the amendments reads:
“Tens of thousands of Georgian citizens will be prevented from exercising their constitutional right to participate in elections and determine their position,” i.e to vote says the note referring to the Georgian citizens who do not have the electronic ID cards.
The Explanatory Note recalls amendments to the Georgian Electoral Code that, as the note says, were initiated in response to the EU 12 recommendations, which introduced an electronic vote counting mechanism. According to the amendments over 70% of votes in the 2024 parliamentary elections and other future elections will be counted electronically. As a result, those with old-style “laminated” IDs will be barred from voting, according to the explanatory note. The Explanatory Note emphasizes the importance of ensuring that no one is prevented from exercising his or her fundamental right to vote.
In addition, the Explanatory Note also states that the draft law is aimed at bringing the Electoral Code of the country in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR, which were given to Georgia through their Joint Opinion issued in December, 2022.
The Explanatory Note argues “the particular attitudes towards the electronic ID cards” including religious beliefs, should not become a “restrictive factor for them to participate in elections and to exercise the constitutional right to vote. It adds: “A person’s beliefs should not be the basis for discrimination.”
The Note says that this requirement could be a financial burden that prevents them from exercising their constitutional right to vote, as the cost of acquiring new IDs ranges from GEL 60 to GEL 150. In turn, the draft law removes this financial burden from those citizens who wish to participate in the elections.
Notably, 2019 a one-month grace period was announced, during which any Georgian citizen could have received the new electronic IDs free of charge.
What did the Venice Commission – OSCE/ODIHR say in 2022?
The Joint Opinion of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) said:
“While electronic identity cards were introduced in Georgia in 2011, it is not mandatory to possess one, and many citizens continue to use their non-electronic identity card (which does not have an expiry date), including for voting. In effect, voters in possession of only the non-electronic card will be disenfranchised. It is imperative that the law ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that all eligible voters are able to cast a vote as a suffrage right. In light of this, consideration should be to continue to provide voters with the option of using either type of card or otherwise incorporate a transitional provision that allows use of either card until a specified date.”
Back in 2022 the OSCE/ODIHR also said: “The transitional period should provide sufficient time for the relevant authorities to inform voters of this new voting requirement and allow citizens a reasonable time period to obtain the electronic card if they do not already possess one. In this respect, it is imperative that the relevant authorities conduct a timely information campaign and facilitate an easy access to obtain the required electronic card.”
What do the opponents say?
In the midst of the new election season, Georgian civil society and opposition representatives raised a number of concerns, mainly about possible vote rigging.
According to Giorgi Sioridze, a representative of the “Lelo” party in the CEC, quoted by Netgazeti, there are still about 300,000 old ID cards and it is of great concern how they could be used for fraud. In addition, Sioridze notes the procedural problems that might arise during electronic voting with old laminated IDs, as they require the ID numbers to be written down manually, slowing down the process.
Sioridze emphasizes that the right to vote is not an absolute right, and in case of the will to exercise such a right, one must accept some rules: “”For example, we have the right to leave the country, but in order to cross the state border, we have to take the passport,” – Sioridze says, adding that if anyone wants to exercise their right to vote, they must possess the electronic IDs.
Tbilisi Bureau of Radio Liberty quotes civil society representatives’ comments on the issue:
Gigi Chikhladze, a project coordinator for local watchdog Transparency International /TI-Georgia, also believes that the “laminated” IDs offer less protection against voter fraud. He also stresses that the Ministry of Justice should use all existing mechanisms at its disposal to ensure that everyone has the electronic IDs, including providing them free of charge, which is a common practice in the run-up to elections.
Levan Natroshvili, deputy executive director of the local CSO International Society for Fair Elections And Democracy (ISFED), also claims that it’s much easier to commit fraud with non-electronic IDs. He cites the case of the 2012 elections, when so many fake non-electronic IDs were discovered, which allegedly were used in the elections.
Iago Kachkachishvili, a sociologist, argues that the majority of supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream party belong to the elderly population, which includes the largest number of people with non-electronic IDs. “The government is trying not to lose a single vote from its supporters… One of its target groups is the elderly population,” says Kachkachishvili. Although he reiterates the central argument against the proposed law, that “it is very easy to print the old ID in a non-factory way [under home conditions], you can print a lot of them, even under the names of those who are already dead, especially since this kind of ID is possessed by representatives of the older generation”.
What to expect?
The opposition parties called for the abolition of Injia’s initiative, saying that the old identities are a lever for the GD to rig the 2024 parliamentary elections. On November 24, the the GD majority discussed the initiative in a closed meeting with opposition.
The participant’s comments after the meeting raised more questions than answers.
Tina Bokuchava, MP from UNM said: We have said that there is a great risk that such [laminated] IDs could be used to rig the elections. Therefore, it is fundamentally important that these people [who have laminated IDs] change their IDs and get the electronic IDs…We have been promised, I would say, that this will happen.”
“All ID cards issued before 2011 will lose their legal power, i.e. [those ID cards] issued before the [new] ID cards with chips were issued,” – said GD Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze. He also said that “there will be a maximum of 500-1000 people who will vote with non-electronic IDs”. How he arrived at this figure, or when exactly the old-style IDs will be invalidated, remains unknown.
“A certain day will be set after which these [laminated] IDs will no longer be valid” – said the leader of the GD, Mamuka Mdinaradze, adding that if anyone still considers it absolutely unacceptable to sit to obtain the new IDs for health reasons or religious beliefs, the same “laminated” IDs will be issued again for these people. Mdinaradze noted that there are currently 64 cards issued on such grounds.
The future of the draft law remains unclear. The draft law has not been suspended and the second hearing in the Parliament is scheduled for the upcoming weeks.
On November 27, at its weekly meeting, the Government of Georgia approved the “Action Plan for Avoiding the Excessive Influence of Vested Interests in Economic, Political and Public Life in Georgia”, also known as the “De-Oligarchization Plan”.
- 21/11/2023 – Government Action Plan on De-oligarchization
At the beginning of the meeting, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that he and Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili would communicate with European colleagues to inform them about the de-oligarchization plan. “It is our common wish that all these reforms envisaged in these nine steps will be implemented as soon as possible,” Prime Minister Garibashvili said, referring to the nine recommendations that Georgia must implement following European Commission’s recommendation of the country’s candidacy.
On November 8, the European Commission recommended Georgia’s candidacy, but asked the country to implement nine different steps. Among other things, Tbilisi was asked to improve the current Action Plan to implement a multi-sectoral, systemic approach to de-oligarchization, in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and accompanied by a transparent and inclusive process involving opposition parties and civil society.
On November 22, the Government of Georgia published its Action Plan on De-Oligarchization. The Government developed the Action Plan based on legislation and measures in seven different areas, including the fight against corruption, public procurement, competition policy, the judiciary, the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the monitoring of the financial activities of political parties, and the media.
Also Read:
On November 26, the de facto president of occupied Abkhazia condemned Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement on November 24 that Armenia “unequivocally and fully” supports “the unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence and democracy of Georgia”. The Armenian Prime Minister said this while answering a question in a live broadcast on whether his country was ready to recognize Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region as Russia-occupied territories.
According to Ekho Kavkaza, Pashinyan further noted that Armenia’s votes in the UN have changed since 2019. Before 2019, Armenia had voted against the UN resolutions recognizing the right of Georgian internally displaced persons to return to their homes in occupied Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region. Since 2019, Armenia has abstained from voting.
In his statement, Aslan Bzhania blames the Armenian leadership’s statements on “Western influence,” claiming that Prime Minister Pashinyan’s recent statement “fundamentally contradicts the fact of sovereignty” of occupied Abkhazia.
“Today, the Armenian community in Abkhazia is represented in the central and local authorities, the Armenian language and culture are supported by the [ed. de facto] state, and the structures of the Armenian Apostolic Church function freely,” adding that “the Armenians in Abkhazia have everything that Nikol Pashinyan could not guarantee to the Armenians of Karabakh, who, as a result of his policies, faced the tragedy of the collapse of statehood and a mass exodus from their homeland.”
Bzhania called on the Armenian government to “abandon indoctrinated rhetoric and begin to take into account the actual state of affairs in the implementation of its foreign policy”.
Ethnic Armenian members of the so-called parliament of occupied Abkhazia, Ashot Minosyan, Galust Trapizonyan, Eric Rshtuni and Levon Galustyan, also reacted to Pashinyan’s statement, calling it “too cynical.” In their statement, the four representatives of the de facto legislature criticized the Armenian prime minister for “easily changing positions” and blamed him for the disappearance of Nagorno-Karabakh from the “political map of the world”.
“Unlike Pashinyan, there are no politicians in Abkhazia who would question the people’s choice and liquidate with a stroke of a pen a country that was conquered with the blood of sons and daughters,” the so-called deputies concluded.
Also Read:
On November 27, the World Bank issued a report entitled “Middle Trade and Transport Corridor – Policies and Investments to Triple Freight Volumes and Halve Travel Time by 2030”, which focuses on Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia and identifies priority measures that can transform the rail and maritime corridor into a vital and dependable trade route between China and the EU.
The report notes that with the right investments and policies, the Middle Corridor, which links Chinese and European markets via Central Asia and the Caucasus, could triple volumes while halving travel time by 2030.
“Out new data confirms that the Middle Corridor is not only viable but can become essential to the economies of countries along the route,” – said Antonella Bassani, the World Banks’s Deputy President for Europe and Central Asia. She added: “Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, together with other countries, have made considerable progress in aligning their vision and moving this corridor forward. The World Bank is committed to supporting the Middle Corridor in partnership with the governments along the route and other multilateral organizations.”
The report develops the trade model that will increase trade from Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan by 37%, while trade between these three countries and the EU will increase by 28%.
The report identifies key policies and investments needed to respond to the demand for transport and to support economic development in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia, including:
- Providing corridor-length logistics solutions to ensure seamless operations along the corridor;
- Reforming and simplifying processes and procedures, particularly at border crossings, to smooth out exchanges of traffic, data, and characteristic of multimodal corridors.;
- Coordinating digitalization to increase tracking and reduce delays at borders and operational interfaces. A unified, interoperable framework can facilitate digital transformation of processes and activities in the corridor;
- Improving performance at the Caspian and Black Sea crossings, with a focus on removing bottlenecks to vessel availability and improving port productivity;
- Agreeing on a uniform investment prioritizing system. The report identifies a number of investment opportunities that should be further evaluated and prioritized.
Also Read:
A year before the 2024 Parliamentary elections, the Georgian legislative body is rushing through amendments to the electoral code that will allow citizens to vote with the so-called “laminated” IDs, which are outdated and vulnerable to fraud.
What happened?
On November 15, the Georgian Parliament adopted in the first reading the amendments to the Election Code of Georgia, which propose to allow voting with “existing non-electronic identity cards (identity cards that do not contain electronic information).”
The draft law was submitted by Fridon Injia, MP and the chairperson of the “European Socialists” parliamentary group, and it was endorsed by the Georgian Dream parliamentary majority.
“As for Fridon Injia’s initiative, this initiative also allows people with non-electronic IDs to vote. We will support this initiative,” said Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling “Georgian Dream.”
What is the change?
Currently, only Georgian citizens in possession of either an electronic ID card or a Georgian passport are allowed to vote. This was enacted in December 2022, when the Parliament adopted the amendments to switch to the electronic system of voting procedure.
If the law is changed again, people who have only the old-style so-called “laminated” ID cards will also be allowed to vote.
How many people have the so-called “laminated” IDs?
It is unclear how many people currently have only the “laminated” IDs. According to the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA) of Georgia, about 400,000 people had only old-style non-electronic IDs in 2019, however, but this statistic does not mean much today, as their number was expected to decrease since then. Politicians and experts give different figures, ranging from 200,000 to 300,000.
Introduction of electronic IDs in 2011
The introduction of electronic ID cards in Georgia in 2011 was accompanied by controversy and opposition from certain segments of society, ranging from dissatisfaction with the price to concerns related to religious issues. In 2020, the Constitutional Court of Georgia declared inadmissible the lawsuit filed a year earlier against the electronic ID cards.
According to the plaintiffs, the chips contained in the electronic ID cards and passports are a means of total control over people and are related to the biblical prophecy of the Apocalypse. The plaintiffs refused to receive such documents because of their faith, while arguing that leaving them without ID cards and passports would completely isolate them from social life and limit their constitutional rights.
Why might the adoption of the draft law be the problem?
As the amendments to the Electoral Code were adopted in the first reading, politicians from the opposition spectrum, as well as the civil society representatives, expressed their concern about the growing fear of electoral fraud.
Zurab Japaridze, the leader of “Girchi-More Freedom” party, demonstrated in the video how easy it is for those who want to cheat the elections to do so by printing extra ID cards, even at home. He also says that in order to rig the elections, the ruling party needs its own people in the Ministry of Justice and the Central Election Commission (CEC), which he says they have.
What problem does the draft law claim to solve?
The Explanatory Note to the amendments reads:
“Tens of thousands of Georgian citizens will be prevented from exercising their constitutional right to participate in elections and determine their position,” i.e to vote says the note referring to the Georgian citizens who do not have the electronic ID cards.
The Explanatory Note recalls amendments to the Georgian Electoral Code that, as the note says, were initiated in response to the EU 12 recommendations, which introduced an electronic vote counting mechanism. According to the amendments over 70% of votes in the 2024 parliamentary elections and other future elections will be counted electronically. As a result, those with old-style “laminated” IDs will be barred from voting, according to the explanatory note. The Explanatory Note emphasizes the importance of ensuring that no one is prevented from exercising his or her fundamental right to vote.
In addition, the Explanatory Note also states that the draft law is aimed at bringing the Electoral Code of the country in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR, which were given to Georgia through their Joint Opinion issued in December, 2022.
The Explanatory Note argues “the particular attitudes towards the electronic ID cards” including religious beliefs, should not become a “restrictive factor for them to participate in elections and to exercise the constitutional right to vote. It adds: “A person’s beliefs should not be the basis for discrimination.”
The Note says that this requirement could be a financial burden that prevents them from exercising their constitutional right to vote, as the cost of acquiring new IDs ranges from GEL 60 to GEL 150. In turn, the draft law removes this financial burden from those citizens who wish to participate in the elections.
Notably, 2019 a one-month grace period was announced, during which any Georgian citizen could have received the new electronic IDs free of charge.
What did the Venice Commission – OSCE/ODIHR say in 2022?
The Joint Opinion of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) said:
“While electronic identity cards were introduced in Georgia in 2011, it is not mandatory to possess one, and many citizens continue to use their non-electronic identity card (which does not have an expiry date), including for voting. In effect, voters in possession of only the non-electronic card will be disenfranchised. It is imperative that the law ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that all eligible voters are able to cast a vote as a suffrage right. In light of this, consideration should be to continue to provide voters with the option of using either type of card or otherwise incorporate a transitional provision that allows use of either card until a specified date.”
Back in 2022 the OSCE/ODIHR also said: “The transitional period should provide sufficient time for the relevant authorities to inform voters of this new voting requirement and allow citizens a reasonable time period to obtain the electronic card if they do not already possess one. In this respect, it is imperative that the relevant authorities conduct a timely information campaign and facilitate an easy access to obtain the required electronic card.”
What do the opponents say?
In the midst of the new election season, Georgian civil society and opposition representatives raised a number of concerns, mainly about possible vote rigging.
According to Giorgi Sioridze, a representative of the “Lelo” party in the CEC, quoted by Netgazeti, there are still about 300,000 old ID cards and it is of great concern how they could be used for fraud. In addition, Sioridze notes the procedural problems that might arise during electronic voting with old laminated IDs, as they require the ID numbers to be written down manually, slowing down the process.
Sioridze emphasizes that the right to vote is not an absolute right, and in case of the will to exercise such a right, one must accept some rules: “”For example, we have the right to leave the country, but in order to cross the state border, we have to take the passport,” – Sioridze says, adding that if anyone wants to exercise their right to vote, they must possess the electronic IDs.
Tbilisi Bureau of Radio Liberty quotes civil society representatives’ comments on the issue:
Gigi Chikhladze, a project coordinator for local watchdog Transparency International /TI-Georgia, also believes that the “laminated” IDs offer less protection against voter fraud. He also stresses that the Ministry of Justice should use all existing mechanisms at its disposal to ensure that everyone has the electronic IDs, including providing them free of charge, which is a common practice in the run-up to elections.
Levan Natroshvili, deputy executive director of the local CSO International Society for Fair Elections And Democracy (ISFED), also claims that it’s much easier to commit fraud with non-electronic IDs. He cites the case of the 2012 elections, when so many fake non-electronic IDs were discovered, which allegedly were used in the elections.
Iago Kachkachishvili, a sociologist, argues that the majority of supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream party belong to the elderly population, which includes the largest number of people with non-electronic IDs. “The government is trying not to lose a single vote from its supporters… One of its target groups is the elderly population,” says Kachkachishvili. Although he reiterates the central argument against the proposed law, that “it is very easy to print the old ID in a non-factory way [under home conditions], you can print a lot of them, even under the names of those who are already dead, especially since this kind of ID is possessed by representatives of the older generation”.
What to expect?
The opposition parties called for the abolition of Injia’s initiative, saying that the old identities are a lever for the GD to rig the 2024 parliamentary elections. On November 24, the the GD majority discussed the initiative in a closed meeting with opposition.
The participant’s comments after the meeting raised more questions than answers.
Tina Bokuchava, MP from UNM said: We have said that there is a great risk that such [laminated] IDs could be used to rig the elections. Therefore, it is fundamentally important that these people [who have laminated IDs] change their IDs and get the electronic IDs…We have been promised, I would say, that this will happen.”
“All ID cards issued before 2011 will lose their legal power, i.e. [those ID cards] issued before the [new] ID cards with chips were issued,” – said GD Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze. He also said that “there will be a maximum of 500-1000 people who will vote with non-electronic IDs”. How he arrived at this figure, or when exactly the old-style IDs will be invalidated, remains unknown.
“A certain day will be set after which these [laminated] IDs will no longer be valid” – said the leader of the GD, Mamuka Mdinaradze, adding that if anyone still considers it absolutely unacceptable to sit to obtain the new IDs for health reasons or religious beliefs, the same “laminated” IDs will be issued again for these people. Mdinaradze noted that there are currently 64 cards issued on such grounds.
The future of the draft law remains unclear. The draft law has not been suspended and the second hearing in the Parliament is scheduled for the upcoming weeks.
On November 27, at its weekly meeting, the Government of Georgia approved the “Action Plan for Avoiding the Excessive Influence of Vested Interests in Economic, Political and Public Life in Georgia”, also known as the “De-Oligarchization Plan”.
- 21/11/2023 – Government Action Plan on De-oligarchization
At the beginning of the meeting, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that he and Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili would communicate with European colleagues to inform them about the de-oligarchization plan. “It is our common wish that all these reforms envisaged in these nine steps will be implemented as soon as possible,” Prime Minister Garibashvili said, referring to the nine recommendations that Georgia must implement following European Commission’s recommendation of the country’s candidacy.
On November 8, the European Commission recommended Georgia’s candidacy, but asked the country to implement nine different steps. Among other things, Tbilisi was asked to improve the current Action Plan to implement a multi-sectoral, systemic approach to de-oligarchization, in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and accompanied by a transparent and inclusive process involving opposition parties and civil society.
On November 22, the Government of Georgia published its Action Plan on De-Oligarchization. The Government developed the Action Plan based on legislation and measures in seven different areas, including the fight against corruption, public procurement, competition policy, the judiciary, the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the monitoring of the financial activities of political parties, and the media.
Also Read: