The News in Brief
Tuesday, February 16
Entrepreneurs report inaccuracies in voters list
The Industry Will Save Georgia party has objected to inaccuracies in the voters list. Leader of the party Zurab Tkemaladze said at a briefing yesterday that the number of the voters listed in the official Central Election Commission register is unreal and does not correspond to the real number of eligible voters in Georgia.
"The monitoring we have conducted has confirmed that there is real chaos in the voters list. The CEC has inserted non-existent blocks of apartments and invented the names of imaginary voters. Considering our demographic situation it is hard to believe that the number of Georgian citizens grows by tens of thousands annually," Zurab Tkemaladze said on the tenth day of monitoring. The opposition party leader said they would continually report the results of their monitoring to the public.
Other opposition leaders have also reported violations in the voters list. Tina Khidasheli from the Republican Party has also demanded an investigation into the non-existent blocks of apartments and imaginary voters registered officially by the CEC.
(Rustavi 2)
Nodar Kumaritashvili’s body to be returned to Georgia on 17 February
The body of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili will be returned to Georgia at dawn on 17 February, Interpressnews has been told by head of the Georgian Olympic team Irakli Japaridze. He said that the plane will leave Canada at 03:00 and arrive in Tbilisi via Germany. The State will cover the transfer and funeral expenses of Nodar Kumaritashvili.
A member of the Georgian Winter Olympic team, Nodar Kumaritashvili’s sled flipped and sent him crashing into a steel pole at the Whistler Sliding Centre, killing the 21-year-old hours before the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Games. The International Luge Federation has concluded that there is no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track. "It appears that after a routine run the athlete came late out of curve 15 and did not compensate properly to make correct entrance into curve 16. This resulted in a late entrance into curve 16, and although the athlete worked to correct the problem, he eventually lost control of the sled, resulting in the tragic accident. Technical officials of the FIL were able to retrace the path of the athlete and concluded that there was no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track," the FIL statement reads.
The Georgian side doesn’t agree with this. Irakli Japaridze says that appropriate security measures were not taken, and had they been the minor mistake would not have resulted in a fatal accident.
(Interpressnews)
Danish Parliamentary delegation holds meetings in Georgian Parliament
Members of the permanent delegation of the Danish Parliament to the Council of Europe are paying an official visit to Georgia. They met members of the Parliamentary minority yesterday and discussed the situation in Georgia's occupied territories and the state strategy towards them.
Russia's aggressive policy was also among the key issues discussed with the guests. The Georgian lawmakers called upon their Danish colleagues to intensify pressure on Russia to fulfil its obligations to the Council of Europe.
(Rustavi 2)
CDM proposes amendments to President's speech to Parliament
The Christian Democratic Movement has demanded amendments to the format of the President's speech to Parliament and presented a relevant draft law to MPs.
The Christian Democrats believe that the regulations which presently determine the form of the President's report to Parliament completely suit the interests of the ruling team. They say that holding debates on the President's speech should be stipulated by the regulations and not be left to the Government's 'goodwill'.
Under the current regulations the Parliamentary minority and majority each have 15 minutes to make a speech after the President's report and the CDM wants this time to be increased to 45 minutes.
(Rustavi 2)
The Industry Will Save Georgia party has objected to inaccuracies in the voters list. Leader of the party Zurab Tkemaladze said at a briefing yesterday that the number of the voters listed in the official Central Election Commission register is unreal and does not correspond to the real number of eligible voters in Georgia.
"The monitoring we have conducted has confirmed that there is real chaos in the voters list. The CEC has inserted non-existent blocks of apartments and invented the names of imaginary voters. Considering our demographic situation it is hard to believe that the number of Georgian citizens grows by tens of thousands annually," Zurab Tkemaladze said on the tenth day of monitoring. The opposition party leader said they would continually report the results of their monitoring to the public.
Other opposition leaders have also reported violations in the voters list. Tina Khidasheli from the Republican Party has also demanded an investigation into the non-existent blocks of apartments and imaginary voters registered officially by the CEC.
(Rustavi 2)
Nodar Kumaritashvili’s body to be returned to Georgia on 17 February
The body of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili will be returned to Georgia at dawn on 17 February, Interpressnews has been told by head of the Georgian Olympic team Irakli Japaridze. He said that the plane will leave Canada at 03:00 and arrive in Tbilisi via Germany. The State will cover the transfer and funeral expenses of Nodar Kumaritashvili.
A member of the Georgian Winter Olympic team, Nodar Kumaritashvili’s sled flipped and sent him crashing into a steel pole at the Whistler Sliding Centre, killing the 21-year-old hours before the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Games. The International Luge Federation has concluded that there is no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track. "It appears that after a routine run the athlete came late out of curve 15 and did not compensate properly to make correct entrance into curve 16. This resulted in a late entrance into curve 16, and although the athlete worked to correct the problem, he eventually lost control of the sled, resulting in the tragic accident. Technical officials of the FIL were able to retrace the path of the athlete and concluded that there was no indication that the accident was caused by deficiencies in the track," the FIL statement reads.
The Georgian side doesn’t agree with this. Irakli Japaridze says that appropriate security measures were not taken, and had they been the minor mistake would not have resulted in a fatal accident.
(Interpressnews)
Danish Parliamentary delegation holds meetings in Georgian Parliament
Members of the permanent delegation of the Danish Parliament to the Council of Europe are paying an official visit to Georgia. They met members of the Parliamentary minority yesterday and discussed the situation in Georgia's occupied territories and the state strategy towards them.
Russia's aggressive policy was also among the key issues discussed with the guests. The Georgian lawmakers called upon their Danish colleagues to intensify pressure on Russia to fulfil its obligations to the Council of Europe.
(Rustavi 2)
CDM proposes amendments to President's speech to Parliament
The Christian Democratic Movement has demanded amendments to the format of the President's speech to Parliament and presented a relevant draft law to MPs.
The Christian Democrats believe that the regulations which presently determine the form of the President's report to Parliament completely suit the interests of the ruling team. They say that holding debates on the President's speech should be stipulated by the regulations and not be left to the Government's 'goodwill'.
Under the current regulations the Parliamentary minority and majority each have 15 minutes to make a speech after the President's report and the CDM wants this time to be increased to 45 minutes.
(Rustavi 2)