Tag Archives: election

UNM candidate heads Georgian presidential election poll

SEPT. 28 (The Conway Bulletin) – A poll for the Rustavi-2 TV station in Georgia said that Grigol Vashadze of the United National Movement party, the party of former president Mikheil Saakashvili, was favourite to win the first round of a presidential election set for Oct. 28 with 22% of the votes. Second in the opinion poll was Davit Bakradze of European Georgia with 18%. Salome Zurabishvili, endorsed by the ruling Georgian Dream, came in third. Opinion polls in Georgia are notoriously fickle. This is the last vote for a directly elected president in Georgia. If there is no clear winner the top two go into a second round.
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>>This story was published in issue 387 of The Conway Bulletin on Oct. 1 2018

Aliyev orders snap presidential election

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FEB. 5 2018 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev surprised his rivals by bringing forward a presidential election by six months to April 11, immediately triggering accusations that he was abusing his powers.

One of the new clauses inserted into Azerbaijan’s constitution after a contentious referendum in 2016 was that the President could choose the date of an election. Previously the date of presidential elections had been fixed.

Mr Aliyev made the announcement via his website but did not give a reason for bringing the election forward from Oct. 17.

Azerbaijan is regularly lambasted for lacking democratic values. It has arrested dozens of anti-government activists, journalists and opposition-supporting lawyers in the past eight years or so. Most have been imprisoned for financial crimes, smuggling or crossing borders illegally.
The authorities in Azerbaijan say they have snuffed out coup attempts but the opposition counter that the arrests are politically motivated.

And they were quick to criticise Mr Aliyev’s decision to bring forward the presidential election. Jamil Hasanli, head of the opposition National Council of Democratic Forces, said the new election date was “an insult to democracy”.

Mr Aliyev took over from his father as president in 2003. He has extended the length of presidential terms and scrapped a limit on the number of terms a person can serve.

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— This story was first published on Feb. 6 2018 in issue 360 of The Conway Bulletin

Kyrgyz opposition politician imprisoned for 12 years

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BISHKEK, JAN 4 (The Conway Bulletin) — A court in the Kyrgyz capital sentenced Kanatbek Isaev, an opposition politician, to 12 years in prison for corruption after a high profile trial that critics of the government described as a politically motivated farce.

The imprisonment of Isaev, who was arrested in May, five months before a presidential election, further crushes opponents of President Sooronbay Jeenbekov and his ally and predecessor Almazbek Atambayev.

It has also triggered a wave of criticism over the Kyrgyz authorities apparent selective clampdown on corruption which has focused on critics of the government — politicians, businessmen and journalists.

Discussing press freedom in Kyrgyzstan, CIVICUS Alliance, a global network of civil rights groups, said in a tweet: “The new president of #Kyrgyzstan has a choice: continue to attack government critics, or break with the legacy of his predecessor and allow for public discussion on the challenges facing the country.”

Last year, the popular news website Zanoza was fined $400,000 for insulting the president and an opposition TV station was closed down. On Dec. 19, police raided NTS, the TV station of Pres. Jeenbekov’s main rival in the October election Omurbek Babanov. He has fled abroad since his failed presidential bid, renounced his political ambitions and accused the authorities of closing down NTS.

Isaev, the jailed MP, is a former mayor of Tokmok and was a high profile supporter of Mr Babanov before his arrest. The corruption charges date back to 2008-10, when he was Tokmok mayor.

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— This story was first published on Jan. 5 2018 in issue 356 of The Conway Bulletin

Georgia’s Parliament weakens Georgian Dream constitutional changes

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SEPT. 22 (The Bulletin) — In what is being described as a major victory by opposition parties in Georgia, Parliament agreed to water-down the ruling Georgian Dream’s planned constitutional changes and allow blocs to contest the next parliamentary election in 2020. Georgian Dream had wanted to ban election blocs. It also ditched plans enforce the so-called Bonus System, which hands all votes from parties failing to pass a 5% threshold to the winning party, from the 2024 election.

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— This story was first published in issue 344 of The Conway Bulletin, now called the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Sept. 24 2017.

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2017

First lesbian to run for political office in Georgia

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SEPT. 16 (The Bulletin) — Nino Bolkvadze, a gay lawyer, will compete for a seat in the Tbilisi City Council elections next month, the first lesbian to run for political office in Georgia. Ms Bolkvadze will run for the Republican Party, a staunchly pro-European party, in the election. Georgia is still regarded as a strongly conservative country with strong anti-LGBT rights movements.

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— This story was first published in issue 344 of The Conway Bulletin, now called the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin, on Sept. 24 2017.

— Copyright the Central Asia & South Caucasus Bulletin 2017

Bishkek court closes opposition TV station

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BISHKEK, AUG. 22 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Less than two months before what is shaping up to be an increasingly feisty and acrimonious presidential election, a court in Bishkek ordered the closure of the Sentyabr private TV channel that was broadly sympathetic with the opposition. The court banned Sentyabr for broadcasting film that it said was extremist. Specifically, it broadcast an interview with an ex-police chief in Osh in which he accused Pres. Almazbek Atambayev’s preferred successor, ex-PM Sooronbai Jeenbekov, of fuelling ethnic tension in the region in 2010.

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(News report from Issue No. 341, published on Aug. 27 2017)

Kyrgyzstan appoints new PM

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AUG. 25 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s parliament confirmed Sapar Isakov, previously President Almazbek Atambayev’s chief of staff, as the new PM (Aug. 25). His predecessor, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, resigned to run for president in an election set for Oct. 15. Mr Atambayev is barred by the Kyrgyz constitution from running for a second term in office. He has backed Mr Jeenbekov.

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(News report from Issue No. 341, published on Aug. 27 2017)

Kyrgyzstan imprisons opposition leader

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AUG. 2 2017 (The Bulletin) — A court in Bishkek gave opposition leader Sadyr Japarov, known for his outspoken fiery speeches, an 11-1/2 year prison sentence for taking a former regional governor hostage during a rally in October 2013. Zaparov is influential on the streets of Bishkek, as shown earlier this year when his arrest triggered a series of tense protests. Kyrgyzstan is voting in a presidential election in October. Japarov had said that he wanted to take part in the election. A second high-profile potential presidential candidate, Omurbek Tekebayev, is in detention waiting to be tried for various financial crimes.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on Aug. 5 2017)

Kyrgyz President promises smooth power transfer

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JULY 24 2017 (The Bulletin) — In a press conference lasting 3-1/2 hours, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev once again pledged his support in a presidential election set for October for PM Sooronbay Dzheenbekov and said that whoever won, there would be a peaceful transfer or power. Mr Atambayev is banned from standing in the election after the end of his single 7-year term. The elections are considered a test of Kyrgyzstan’s democracy.

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(News report from Issue No. 337, published on July 27 2017)

Kaladze to contest Georgian capital mayor for GD

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TBILISI, JULY 1 2017 (The Bulletin) — The ruling Georgian Dream coalition chose energy minister Kakha Kaladze to be their candidate in an election for the mayor of Tbilisi set for October, a contest that is shaping up to be an early test of the government’s popularity.

Mr Kaladze is a former international football player who played for Georgia and Italian team AC Milan. His main opponent for the Tbilisi mayoral position also has a prominent public persona. Earlier in June, the United National Movement party (UNM) of former President Mikheil Saakasvhili said that it was going to put up Zaal Udumashvili, a well-known news reader for the opposition Rustavi-2 TV channel to be its candidate.

The UNM lost a parliamentary election heavily last year to the Georgian Dream. Analysts have said that without a victory, or at least a strong showing in the contest to win control of Tbilisi City Hall, the UNM could be slipping into irrelevance. Davit Narmania, a Georgian Dream candidate, won the Tbilisi mayoral election in 2014. The Tbilisi mayoral election is the most high-profile of several being held across Georgia’s municipalities in October.

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(News report from Issue No. 335, published on July 3 2017)