For the first time on May 30, mayoral candidates must not only be directly elected by the voters rather than selected via party list, but also must gain at least 30 percent of the total vote. But will that 30 percent threshold, a compromise inserted after fierce debate between the parties about this powerful political post, help guarantee a competitive election?
Eka Siradze, the leader of International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) thinks that the threshold should be a measure of fairness in voters’ minds. In lots of countries there are different systems, she said, but “the mayor, being elected in the threshold system, will have more powerful mandate, than a mayor being elected without a threshold.”
The debate around the threshold pitted Mayoral Candidate Irakli Alasania’s National Alliance for Georgia party, which demanded a 50 percent threshold, against the incumbent mayor Gigi Gugalava’s and President Mikael Saakashvili’s ruling National Movement party, which advocated no threshold at all. The debates ended with the 30 percent middle choice proposed by the Christian Democrats.
But is that threshold high enough to guarantee a competitive race? Current polling figures show Gugalava ahead by a comfortable 38 percent. Meanwhile, only 13 percent of voters say they support Alasania, with other opposition party candidates coming in much lower. An additional 16 of voters were undecided, according to the poll, which was conducted by the Caucasus Resource Research Center (CRRC) last November. The poll was conducted randomly among 2000 Tbilisi residents and contained a +/- 3 percent margin of error.
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A higher threshold was also the choice for most Tbilisi residents, according to the CRRC research, conducted at the request of NDI to assess voter attitudes and trends. Eighty percent of Georgians answered that a threshold during the mayoral election is needed. Only 6 percent of that group thought a 30 percent threshold was adequate, while the vast majority (60 percent) consider a 50 percent threshold or more to be the best suggestion.
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Though Alasania threatened to withdraw from the mayor’s race when the threshold was set at 30 percent, he later changed his mind. Victor Dolidze, Chief Executor of Alliance for Georgia, explains that that 50 percent threshold was not a do-or-die requirement for their leader.
“We still think that 50 percent was absolutely appropriate for this situation but, as the government did not take this correct step, we agreed on a 30 percent threshold,” he said. It was the right move, apparently: according to the NDI survey:, 43 percent of Tbilisi citizens sare against the idea of Alasania’s boycotting elections and only 20 percent think that boycotting would be right.
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“Certainly the 50 percent, at this certain period of our county, increases the chance for the mayor’s race to move to a second round,” said Tamar Zhvania, director of United Nations Development Programme Georgia (UNDP Georgia). “But to define the 50 percent threshold as an ultimate way out is impossible in terms of democratic standards. There is no direct approach to ideal election standards in the modern world so we can’t say for sure that thresholds might have a drastic significance during this election. “
მახსოვს, აგვისტოს ომის პერიოდში, როცა უცხოელების კომენტარები გადიოდა პირდაპირი ეთერით, ქართველები როგორ თარგმნიდნენ. შუადღისას გაკეთებულ განცხადებაში, რომელშიც გერმანიის კანცლერი არც თუ ისე გვამართლებდა რუსეთის წინააღმდეგ ომში, სინქრონული თარგმანი იმავეს ამბობდა. საღმოს კი, დღის შემაჯამებელი “კურიერის” ყურებისას, ხელახლა “გადათარგმნილი” სინქრონის მიხედვით, თურმე ანგელა მერკელი რუსეთის მიწის დაყრაზე, მის დაქცევასა და საქართველოს გამართლებაზე საუბრობდა.
Georgia agreed with the ambassadors of 
Another important issue about which the minister spoke with EU ambassadors was the support of the union towards Georgia. The Sewdish Presidency of the EU political and security committee Olof Skoog stated after the meeting that EU tries its best to change situation in future and spread its monitoring along the whole country. They say that they try to change the position of Russia towards this issue but it is vain yet. “We continue in Brusels to discuss the issue about preceding our mission and mandate problems”, said the head of the delegation 
Students of 50 public schools in Tbilisi are taking part in literary competition arragned by the youth organization 
During the competition students were not limited in the types of writing. Students were chosen in the first part of the competition locally at there schools. The main criterion was their creativity: each student had to present at least 5 of his works. Nominations for the winners are not established yet but, as the organizers say, the works of winner/s of the first 3 places will be published as a book. The manager of Davitianni School Programs, Tamta Chikovani, says: “The main surprise is that winners will meet the Patriarch and get the bless of his holiness.”
NGO Former Political Prisoners for Human rights are going to start protest rally on November 23 if the points of the resolution accepted on November 7, 2009 aren’t taken into the consideration by the government. It was declared on the press conference on November 9.
The representatives have some plans for the rally preparations.The member of the Movement November 7, Jaba Jishkariani said that the society should unite for expressing their firm position towards the injustice in the country. “I convoke all the students to join the protest. Our organization is going to hold meetings with the different university students and in that way we will spread our flanks to the young people”, Jishkariani stated.
Journalism by Zurriuss 