NOV. 7 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Workers at the Black Sea port of Poti in Georgia have been striking since Nov. 1, media reported. The port is a vital transit point for the trade route connecting Central Asia and the South Caucasus to Europe. In 2008, the Georgian government sold a stake in Poti Port to Ras Al Khaimah, part of the UAE.
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(News report from Issue No. 112, published on Nov. 9 2012)
NOV. 1 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – In one of his first major policy statements since becoming Georgia’s PM last week, Bidzina Ivanishvili said he would not restore diplomatic ties with Russia until it reversed its recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. South Ossetia and Abkhazia broke away from Georgia in the mid-1990s.
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(News report from Issue No. 111, published on Nov. 2 2012)
OCT. 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The day before parliament rubber-stamped his first government, Georgia’s new PM, Bidzina Ivanishvili said he only wanted to hold the job for 18 months. Mr Ivanishvili’s announcement is consistent with previous statements that he didn’t want a political career but it still raises the prospect of further instability.
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(News report from Issue No. 110, published on Oct. 26 2012)
OCT. 25 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s 150-seat parliament in Kutaisi formally voted in a new government headed by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, leader of the opposition coalition that defeated President Mikheil Saakashvili’s party in an election on Oct. 1. Mr Ivanishvili’s coalition won 85 seats in parliament.
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(News report from Issue No. 110, published on Oct. 26 2012)
OCT. 16 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The family of Badri Patarkatsishvili, the dead Georgian billionaire who in 2007/2008 financed opponents of President Mikheil Saakashvili, regained control of Imedi TV. In 2007, police raided Imedi TV after the authorities accused it of inciting unrest. From 2008, an ally of Mr Saakashvili had controlled Imedi TV.
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(News report from Issue No. 109, published on Oct. 19 2012)
OCT. 13/14 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – A series of shallow earthquakes shook the region around the Azerbaijan-Georgia border. No casualties were reported although the magnitude 5.3 and 4.8 earthquakes rocked Tbilisi and other towns.
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(News report from Issue No. 109, published on Oct. 19 2012)
OCT. 8 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a meeting with Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, the PM-elect, Bidzina Ivanishvili, said he wanted to continue to push for NATO membership as well as improve ties with Russia. It was a symbolic but important meeting between these bitter rivals. Mr Saakashvili will remain head of state until a presidential election, which is scheduled for October 2013.
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(News report from Issue No. 108, published on Oct. 12 2012)
OCT. 8 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Bidzina Ivanishvili, head of the Georgian opposition coalition that won a parliamentary election on Oct. 1, put himself forward as the new PM. Also named in his cabinet, which is yet to be formally ratified, were former AC Milan footballer Kakha Kaladze as development minister and Irakly Alasania, a former envoy to the UN, as defence minister.
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(News report from Issue No. 108, published on Oct. 12 2012)
OCT. 5 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili and his opposition coalition, Georgian Dream, pulled off a shock victory in a parliamentary election in Georgia on Oct. 1.
They defeated the victor of the 2003 Rose Revolution — Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and his political party United National Movement party (UNM).
Final results are not yet out, but estimates suggest that Georgian Dream will claim about 83 seats in the 150-seat parliament.
This was both a stunning and surprising victory. Analysts had predicted an easy win for UNM.
Now, though, Mr Ivanishvili has to show that he is not only a wily campaigner but can also govern. And this is where it will get complicated. Other than vague notions of improving ties with Russia while still moving towards the West, Mr Ivanishvili has been light on policy ideas.
A new constitution, due to be adopted next year further complicates matters. Until then, the president is still the most powerful figure in the country and even appoints the prime minister. After the new constitution comes into play, power shifts to the prime minister.
And there is also the small matter of another election, this time a presidential election, scheduled for Oct. 2013. It’s likely to be an unsettling 12 months in Georgia.
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(News report from Issue No. 107, published on Oct. 5 2012)
SEP. 28 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Street protests, stirred by revelations last week of abuse in Georgia’s prisons, continued to dominate Tbilisi ahead of parliamentary elections on Oct. 1. Media outlets have also reported that the video of the abuses has pushed people towards voting for the opposition party, Georgian Dream.
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(News report from Issue No. 106, published on Sep. 28 2012)