On October 23, three days before the crucial parliamentary elections, the ruling Georgian Dream party concluded its pre-election regional tour with a closing rally in the capital, Tbilisi. Most of the crowd had been bussed in from across the country. Billionaire and ruling party patron Bidzina Ivanishvili and other GD leaders addressed the rally, urging their supporters to vote for the Georgian Dream.
Ten additional Senators intend to cosponsor the bipartisan U.S. Georgian People’s Act (GPA), as announced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Jim Risch (R-ID), the bill’s co-authors, on October 22. They have requested to join the bill when the Senate reconvenes in November. “I’m pleased that a number of my Senate colleagues recognize the urgency of the situation in Georgia and have agreed to cosponsor the Georgian People’s Act in the U.S. Senate,” said Senator Shaheen.
Transparency International Georgia released an updated version of its “Corruption Map,” revealing that since 2013, companies linked to Georgian Dream officials and party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili have won more than GEL 3.280 billion in state tenders in various regions of Georgia, of which almost a third – more than GEL 1.130 billion – was received by the companies in 2024. Watchdog believes that the corruption situation is becoming increasingly uncontrollable, especially in the regions.
Czech journalist Ray Baseley was denied entry to Georgia. He reported this on his social media and posted a picture of the document given to him by the border police, which stated that he was denied entry under “other cases provided for by Georgian legislation.” Baseley actively covered the protests against the Foreign Agents law a few months ago.
Results of the final pre-election Gorbi poll, commissioned by pro-government Imedi TV, were released today, predicting a confident victory of the ruling Georgian Dream party with 60.2 percent of votes. Opposition-leaning Formula and Mtavari Arkhi TVs also published final pre-election polls by Edison Research and Savanta today, showing dramatically different results where the opposition dominates the race. More on these and other election-related developments you can read in our Election 2024 Live Blog.
The Communications Commission upheld the complaints by the opposition Strong Georgia and Gakharia – For Georgia parties and issued a protocol of administrative violation against the pro-government Imedi TV and Rustavi 2 for not airing their political ads.
The Data of the Day
On October 23, the Monetary Policy Committee of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) decided to keep the key refinancing rate unchanged at 8%. The NBG notes that inflation has remained below the 3% target since the beginning of the year. The NBG emphasizes that its monetary policy, with its timely tightening and gradual normalization, has helped to stabilize long-term inflation expectations, especially for domestically produced goods.
The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has sold USD 60 million in a foreign exchange auction. This is the third time the NBG has sold international reserves ahead of elections to prevent the national currency from depreciating. The NBG decided to sell international reserves “to prevent the excessive influence of non-fundamental factors and the traditionally characteristic frenzy of the pre-election period.”
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