Page 9 - bne IntelliNews Georgia country report October 2017

been widely criticised and is technically illegal under international law. However, Saakashvili’s grandstanding has also brought down opprobrium on him as the public is tired of dogfights amongst the political elite while the reform agenda is ignored.
Saakashvili’s fate remains in the balance. He said in a press release that on arriving in Ukraine he filed for asylum which allows him to remain on it territory while the application is processed, Saakashvili’s camp claim.
Kyiv could also choose to arrest him and possibly extradite him to Georgia, where the 49-year-old is wanted on corruption charges, which he says are politically motivated.
"We are acting lawfully and protecting the law," Saakashvili said during the press conference outside his hotel and announced plans to hold rallies in towns across Ukraine and to travel to the capital.
Saakashvili, who is known for his anti-corruption fights in Georgia and Ukraine, where he served as governor of the Odessa region until November 2016. In late July, the Ukrainian immigration service announced that Saakashvili's citizenship had been rescinded because of his failure to reveal the fact that he was wanted in Georgia on charges of abuse of power.
However, the accusations against Saakashvili and the fact that the Georgian judiciary's opening of a case against him had been widely publicised worldwide, indicated that that offered reasoning appeared to be an excuse to conceal the fact that the Ukrainian administration was seeking to remove an inconvenient and often vocal critic. Moreover, there had also been a warming of ties between Tbilisi and Kyiv of late.
2.5 Georgia divided ahead of October local election, says NDI
A mission from US-based think tank the National Democratic Institute (NDI) visited Georgia in mid-July to conduct an assessment ahead of the October local elections .
The mission found that there are "two divergent Georgias", the dichotomy of which could undermine trust in the political process. On the one hand the country has a vibrant political landscape and overwhelming support for a democratic future, amidst other accomplishments. The ruling Georgian Dream party espouses the view that the country is a democratic haven with an unbiased justice system, quickly expanding economy, free media and reforms reflecting broad input.
On the other hand, the majority of NDI's informants characterised the state of affairs in Georgia as a calculated consolidation of power on behalf of the ruling party, uneven and politicised application of the law, reforms meant to benefit the ruling party, shrinking media space for alternative viewpoints, informal governance and abuse of state resources, particularly the use of state security services. "This stark disparity of viewpoints could confuse and alienate citizens and contribute to instability over time," said NDI in the report.
9 GEORGIA Country Report October 2017 www.intellinews.com