The World Bank is implementing an ambitious plan to allocate 45% of its annual funding to combat climate change this year.
Day: October 11, 2024
Georgia will open more polling stations abroad
On October 11, the Central Election Commission of Georgia announced that seven additional polling stations will be opened abroad for the parliamentary elections on October 26.
These stations will be added in cities where polling places already exist: Athens, New York, Thessaloniki, Berlin, Barcelona, Rome, and Paris.
In total, Georgian citizens living abroad will be able to vote at 67 polling stations in 42 countries.
The Chair of the Central Election Commission, Giorgi Kalandarishvili, also announced that the only polling station in Israel, located in Ramat Gan, will operate as usual.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia had previously proposed closing this station, citing potential risks to voter safety.
“We in the commission unanimously agree that the issue of closing the polling station in Israel is not on the agenda. The commission lacks the authority to assess potential dangers in any building in Israel,” Kalandariashvili stated.
According to the Central Election Commission, more polling stations will be opened abroad for the 2024 parliamentary elections than were available during the 2020 parliamentary elections. This includes polling stations in countries where none were previously established, such as the United Arab Emirates, Finland, Korea, Japan, and Australia, the CEC reported.
Georgian Dream and Viktor Orbán
Georgian philosopher Giga Zedania draws parallels between the upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia, scheduled for October 26, and those held in Hungary. According to Zedania, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s electoral tactics are detrimental to democracy, but they do not foster a sense of extreme alienation from the West or an existential threat for Hungarian voters. This is because Hungary is already a member of the EU and NATO—unlike Georgia.
Giga Zedania notes that in April 2022, Viktor Orbán’s far-right party, Fidesz, won Hungary’s parliamentary elections for the fourth consecutive time. According to Zedania, Georgia’s ruling party has adopted Fidesz’s strategy as a guiding model, but it lacks the necessary tools or the ability to effectively implement them.
By “tools,” Zedania refers to Hungary’s mixed electoral system, which combines proportional and majoritarian elements. In contrast, Georgia employs only a proportional system, a significant disadvantage for the ruling party, Georgian Dream.
Zedania further explains that in Hungary, Orbán’s party controlled all major television channels, hindering the opposition’s ability to convey its message to voters. However, there are three opposition channels in Georgia.
Additionally, Orbán successfully capitalized on Russia’s war against Ukraine: the elections in Hungary took place just a month after the Russian invasion, when widespread shock still lingered. In this context, Orbán positioned himself as the West’s sole ally of the aggressor, likely instilling a pragmatic hope among voters.
Now, two and a half years later, the fear of Russia has not completely dissipated, but it has significantly weakened.
Finally, Zedania asserts that while Orbán’s electoral tactics are damaging to democracy, they do not create a sense of complete alienation from the West or an existential threat for Hungarian voters, as Hungary is already a member of the EU and NATO.
Given all this, Zedania concludes that Georgian Dream is unlikely to replicate the success of Fidesz and Orbán.
Georgian Dream and Viktor Orbán
ECHR fines the Azerbaijani government
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has announced three new rulings regarding complaints from citizens of Azerbaijan. According to these decisions, the Azerbaijani government will pay a total of €47,000 in compensation to the claimants.
- The retail price of butter in Azerbaijan exceeds the purchase price by more than twice
- Ilham Aliyev accused the State Department of pressuring Azerbaijan, and lawmakers are calling for USAID’s expulsion
- “Time shows that Europe still does not understand the realities of Azerbaijan.” A perspective from Baku
Aynur Bagirova v. Azerbaijan
One of the rulings from the European court was issued regarding the claim filed by the relatives of Anar Bagirov, who was killed during the “Ganja events.”
On July 3, 2018, the executive power of the city was shot in Ganja. Following the incident, Anar Bagirov was wanted and was killed on July 20 of the same year during an operation by the State Security Service to detain him.
Investigative documents in this case indicate that Bagirov received only one bullet out of four while he was standing, and another bullet hit him shortly before his death. The investigator concluded that there were no criminal actions on the part of the SSS employees. The investigator’s report states that Bagirov was killed due to armed resistance.
In 2019, Aynur Bagirova, Anar Bagirov’s sister, filed a lawsuit in the Binagadi District Court of Baku, claiming that her brother was intentionally killed and that the investigator did not conduct an effective investigation into the murder. Local courts did not satisfy the claimant’s complaint.
In this case, Bagirova turned to the ECHR, alleging her brother’s intentional murder by representatives of the authorities and the ineffective investigation of the case by local authorities.
In its ruling on October 10, the European court upheld the claimant’s lawsuit and recognized a violation of Article 2 (right to life) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The decision noted that local authorities did not conduct an effective investigation into the murder of the claimant’s brother, and the government failed to provide credible evidence of the murder due to armed resistance.
According to the decision, the government is required to pay the claimant €32,000 in moral compensation and legal expenses.
Claim by the former Attorney General
The court in Strasbourg also announced its decision regarding the lawsuit filed by former Azerbaijani Attorney General Eldar Hasanov, who is currently under arrest.
The case concerned the imprisonment of Eldar Hasanov, who served as Attorney General from 1995 to 2000 and as ambassador from 2001 to 2020.
On August 13, 2020, the former ambassador of Azerbaijan to Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Eldar Hasanov, was detained by the State Security Service on suspicion of abuse of office and misappropriation of budget funds. On January 21, 2022, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and confiscation of property by the Baku Serious Crimes Court.
Hasanov described the charges as “unfounded” and noted that “certain figures in power conveyed false information to the head of state about his alleged political ambitions.”
Eldar Hasanov complained to the ECHR about violations of Articles 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment), 5 (unlawful interference with the right to liberty and security), and 18 (restriction of rights) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The claimant argued that there were no valid grounds for his detention and imprisonment, and he was denied necessary medical assistance during his arrest.
The court found violations of Articles 3 and 5 of the European Convention concerning the claimant.
According to the ECHR’s decision, the government will pay the claimant €9,234 in compensation for moral harm and legal expenses.
Dzhafarova and Others v. Azerbaijan
The third ruling of the ECHR was issued in the case of “Dzhafarova and Others v. Azerbaijan.”
This case was dedicated to a complaint regarding the violation of rights to assembly and effective remedies. During communication, the government acknowledged the violations and committed to compensating the claimants.
According to this decision of the European court, Aigul Dzhafarova, Gulnara Mekhtieva, Wafa Nagieva, and Seymur Nazarov will each receive €1,575 in compensation.
From January to September of this year, the consumer price index in Azerbaijan reached 101.5% compared to the same period last year. This includes 100.4% for food products, beverages, and tobacco, 101.4% for non-food products, and 103.3% for paid services, Azernews reports, citing the State Statistics Committee.