Second round of parliamentary election to be held in Georgia on Sunday (TASS)

http://tass.com/world/909636

Georgian Parties Fail to Link Domestic Prosperity With a Consistent Foreign Policy (Devi Dumbadze, The Jamestown Foundation)

Days after Russia completed its annual military exercise Kavkaz 2016, centered on the southern part of the country and the Black Sea area and reportedly involving 120,000 service personnel (seeEDM, September 15), Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili delivered a pre-election speech at the United Nations General Assembly (Civil Georgia, September 22). With Georgia’s October 8 parliamentary elections nearing, campaigns are in high gear. Kvirikashvili used his opportunity in the international spotlight to delineate an action plan that is nearly identical with his party Georgian Dream–Democratic Georgia’s (GDDG) domestic platform (Civil.ge, September 22). He only briefly addressed the main national security issue: Russia occupies 20 percent of Georgian territory, and human rights violations against Georgia’s citizens there are ongoing (Civil Georgia, September 17).

http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=45796&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=7&cHash=e845aa1d3ff0964f396797a8005f0a0f#.V-0UooiLTIU

Is Georgia Headed Toward Post-Election Violence? (Vasili Rukhadze, The Jamestown Foundation)

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, who also serves as the chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream–Democratic Georgia party (GDDG), stated on September 14 that the formerly ruling United National Movement (UNM) was trying to radicalize the country’s political situation through its affiliate organizations. He asserted that UNM was setting up new groups and was planning to block the exits and entrances of polling stations to artificially create tensions. The prime minister’s statement followed Interior Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvili’s statement a day earlier, who said that, based on his information, “some political parties [intended] certain provocations during and after the elections” (Civil Georgia, September 14). Nationwide parliamentary elections are scheduled in Georgia for October 8.

http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=45797&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=7&cHash=e8348cf7d10ba5fe3fb13e80167a5885#.V-0S5oiLTIU

(Istituto fondamentale - Global) The creeping Russian border in Georgia (Luke Coffey, Al Jazeera)

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/07/creeping-russian-border-georgia-south-ossetia-abkhazia-150722111452829.html

(Istituto fondamentale - Global) West Will Rue Ignoring Russia’s Moves into Georgia (George Mchedlishvili, Chatham House)

http://www.chathamhouse.org/expert/comment/west-will-rue-ignoring-russia-s-moves-georgia