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GNCC: TV Companies did not violate the law

Media.Ge reports that according to the Georgian National Communication Commission (GNCC), by airing the video clip “Gigi knows it better”, Rustavi 2 and Imedi TV have not violated the law.

Stressing that it was a commercial advertisement, GNCC explained it could not have been considered as election propaganda.

GNCC started studying the complaint of Transparency International Georgia on March 21 and finished on May 14. The stars of the commercial that refer to the communal vouchers distributed by the Tbilisi Mayor’s Office, showed their gratitude towards Tbilisi City Hall and Mayor Gigi Ugulava in particular and coincided with the Parliamentary by-election period.

GNCC said that according to the Georgian Election Code, the video aimed at popularizing the mayor and his activities cannot be considered an election ad, because no one participating in the elections was included.

Thus, the commission concluded that Georgian legislation was not violated by releasing the video clips either on behalf of Rustavi 2 or Imedi TV.



Berdzenishvili says moving Parliament to Kutaisi was silly

Netgazeti reports that the discussions over the location of the parliament are still underway. Georgian Dream MP, Levan Berdzenishvili, believes that the parliament and government should be located in the same city, while the current situation creates problems with communication.

According to Berdenishvili, MPs constantly have problems with this fact. He said even the Ambassador of France admitted it is a problem. “We received a delegation of the Council of Europe. To have an hour talk with us they lost the entire day,” MP said.

Berdzenishvili thinks it was a silly idea to move the parliament building to Kutaisi. He said it is not his personal problem, but rather the state's. He said there are no examples of moving a parliament building from a capital in any other country.

However, opposition MP, Chiora Taktakishvili, thinks the government and in particular, Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, wants to control the parliament. This is why he wants to return the building to the capital. She said that the parliamentary opposition has invited a lot of ministers to the Kutaisi Parliament and held sharp debates as well.