Tag Archives: government

Georgia arrests military chiefs

NOV. 9 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Politics in Georgia often carries a dramatic flavour and the arrest of Bacho Akhalaia, a former defence minister; Brigadier General Giorgi Kalandadze, the head of Georgia’s military; and Zurab Shamatava, a senior commander fits this mould perfectly.

Police arrested them allegedly for physically abusing six soldiers in Oct. 2011. The soldiers were sacked later that year for attempted mutiny.

Allies of Mr Akhalaia, who served as defence minister from Sept. 2009 to July 2012 before becoming the interior minister for a few months, were furious. They accused the new government of starting a witch-hunt against members of the previous administration.

Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, whose United National Movement party (UNM) lost a parliamentary election last month to a coalition lead by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, said the arrests had been politically motivated. The UNM’s MPs walked out of parliament.

Mr Ivanishvili is now Georgia’s PM but Mr Saakashvili remains the president until an election in about a year’s time. The arrests and the reaction to these arrests show the strain this uneasy partnership is already under.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 112, published on Nov. 9 2012)

Turkmenistan’s elders elect unknown VP

OCT. 24 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Highlighting Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov’s unlimited power, a government website reported that Turkmenistan’s Council of Elders had elected Hally Nazarov, a previously unknown farmer, to be his vice-president. Mr Berdymukhamedov chairs the Council of Elders, which rubber-stamps his decisions.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 110, published on Oct. 26 2012)

Georgia’s new PM has limited ambitions

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.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 110, published on Oct. 26 2012)

Georgia forms new government

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.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 110, published on Oct. 26 2012)

Turkmen Pres. pledges happiness

OCT. 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Proclaiming a period of “happiness”, Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov pledged to spend profits from gas sales on improving living standards. Turkmenistan, routinely criticised for human rights abuses, holds the world’s fourth largest gas reserves and has boosted exports over the past few years.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 110, published on Oct. 26 2012)

Georgia’s parliament names new PM

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.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 108, published on Oct. 12 2012)

Georgian Dream pulls off victory in election

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.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 107, published on Oct. 5 2012)

Azerbaijan’s parliament throws out Ahmadova

OCT. 3 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s parliament has thrown out Gular Ahmadova, the MP filmed trying to organise a bribe from a businessman in exchange for a seat in the legislature, media reported. The video, filmed in 2005, has shaken the Azerbaijani political establishment. Ms Ahmadova had been a relatively prominent figure in the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 107, published on Oct. 5 2012)

Kazakh President reshuffles government

SEP. 21 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev sacked Aslan Musin as his chief of staff. In Mr Musin’s place, Mr Nazarbayev promoted the loyal PM Karim Masimov. No official reason was given for the change but many analysts believe that Mr Musin had become too powerful.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 106, published on Sep. 28 2012)

Kyrgyzstan creates new coaltion

SEP. 3 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyz parliamentarians patched together a new coalition, quashing fears of instability after the Ar-Namys and Ata-Meken parties quit government nine days earlier. The Social Democratic party’s Jantoro Satibaldiyev, a former chief of the presidential staff, is the new PM. Ar-Namys and Ata-Meken are part of the 3-party coalition.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 104, published on Sep. 14 2012)