Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan Plan New Pipeline
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facebook.com/ georgiatoday Issue no: 886/48 • OCTOBER 11 - 13, 2016 • PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY PRICE: GEL 2.50 In this week’s issue... FOCUS Transparency International ON POLITICAL RESULTS on Violations Reported in A round-up of the weekend's elections PAGE 2 - 5 Georgian Elections POLITICS PAGE 2 RETAIL FPI| Food Prices Keep Going South PAGE 6 Lessons, Challenges and Best Practices from IDP Livelihoods Experience in Georgia AP Photo/Sergei Grits PAGE 7 Azerbaijan Slashes Defense Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan Budget as Oil Revenue Plummets Plan New Pipeline PAGE 10 Kazakhstan has one of the world’s proven Marijuana Editor at BY NICHOLAS WALLER reserves of hydrocarbons, which accounts for 5.5 billion tons of oil and 3 trillion cubic meters Denver Post on the of gas. zerbaijan’s Energy Minister Natig Kazakhstan is to produce 33.6 billion cubic Cannabis Legalization Aliyev announced on October 7 meters of gas and 80 million tons of oil per year, that his government and their but has no guaranteed reliable and secure export in Colorado Today Kazakh counterparts are in the route except the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan. PAGE 11 fi nal stages of negotiations over Three other existing pipelines that pass through Athe construction of a 739-kilometer oil pipeline Russia and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, that will extend under the Caspian Sea. that carries oil from Kazakhstan’s huge Tengiz Georgia Make “The construction of this pipeline will enable oil fi eld to Russia’s Black Sea port Novorossysk, The KCTS consists of oil terminals on the Kazakhstan to export its oil to ports in both are incapable of meeting the country’s growing Kazakh coast of the Caspian Sea, as well as tank- an Overdue Georgia and Turkey. The new pipeline’s capac- export potential. ers, vessels and oil terminals on the Azeri side ity will amount to 23-25 million tons per year, Aliyev said the new pipeline will be part of of the Sea. Point in Wales with the possibility of a future expansion to 56 the Kazakhstan Caspian Transportation System All of the facilities are connected to the Baku- million tons,” Aliyev said. (KCTS). Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline. SPORTS PAGE 12 Prepared for Georgia Today Business by Markets Asof07ͲOctͲ2016 STOCKS Price w/w m/m BONDS Price w/w m/m BankofGeorgia(BGEOLN) GBP30.43 +4,8% +1,3% GEOROG04/21 105.50(YTM5.37%) Ͳ0,1% Ͳ0,2% GHG(GHGLN) GBP3.18 +7,3% +6,1% GEORG04/21 112.12(YTM3.91%) +0,0% Ͳ0,4% TBCBankGroup(TBCGLN) GBP12.65 Ͳ0,4% +17,4% GRAIL07/22 112.69(YTM5.17%) Ͳ0,3% Ͳ0,3% BGEOLN07/23 103.63(YTM5.35%) Ͳ0,1% +0,2% COMMODITIES Price w/w m/m CrudeOil,Brent(US$/bbl) 51,93 +5,8% +8,2% CURRENCIES Price w/w m/m GoldSpot(US$/OZ) 1257,08 Ͳ4,5% Ͳ6,5% GEL/USD 2,3350 Ͳ0,2% +1,3% GEL/EUR 2,5878 Ͳ2,1% Ͳ0,1% INDICES Price w/w m/m GEL/GBP 2,9095 Ͳ4,2% Ͳ5,5% FTSE100 7044,39 +2,1% +2,9% GEL/CHF 2,3887 Ͳ0,7% +0,6% FTSE250 17995,16 +0,7% Ͳ0,4% GEL/RUB 0,0375 +0,3% +4,5% DAX 10490,86 Ͳ0,2% Ͳ2,4% GEL/TRY 0,7653 Ͳ2,3% Ͳ2,5% DOWJONES 18240,49 Ͳ0,4% Ͳ1,5% GEL/AZN 1,4647 +2,2% +8,2% NASDAQ 5292,41 Ͳ0,4% +0,2% GEL/AMD 0,0049 Ͳ2,0% Ͳ MSCIEMEE 132,20 +2,4% Ͳ0,3% GEL/UAH 0,0904 Ͳ0,2% +4,6% MSCIEM 914,81 +1,3% Ͳ1,2% EUR/USD 0,8929 +0,3% +0,4% SP500 2153,74 Ͳ0,7% Ͳ1,5% GBP/USD 0,8042 +4,4% +7,3% MICEX 1980,02 +0,1% Ͳ3,6% CHF/USD 0,9775 +0,6% +0,8% MSCIFM 2530,03 Ͳ0,1% Ͳ1,8% RUB/USD 62,3160 Ͳ0,9% Ͳ2,9% GTIndex(GEL) 908,54 Ͳ +8,0% TRY/USD 3,0510 +1,7% +3,9% GTIndex(USD) 768,04 Ͳ0,3% +6,4% AZN/USD 1,6028 Ͳ2,4% Ͳ5,9% GEORGIA TODAY 2 POLITICS OCTOBER 11 - 13, 2016 Central Elections Commission on 2nd Round of Elections Transparency International on Violations Reported in Georgian Elections second. The one who gets more votes BY THEA MORRISON in the second round will be declared Georgia, including in Zugdidi, Batumi, commission. BY ZYGIMANTAS KAPOCIUS winner. If they get equal votes, a third Chkhorotsku, Sagarejo, Gurjaani and Significant polling delays were elections will be appointed. Akhaltsikhe. observed in Sagarejo, as members of he Central Elections Com- In Tbilisi a second round will be held Transparency International's election the precinct’s electoral commission mission (CEC) of Georgia in Mtatsminda, Vake, Saburtalo, Krt- ransparency International, observers also noted that a precinct were reprimanded for their low quali- has stated that, according sanisi, Isani, Samgori, Didube, Chughureti an international NGO offi ce in Zugdidi, located in western fi cations and inability to speak Georgian. to preliminary results, a and Gldani districts. observing Georgia’s par- Georgia, opened 45 minutes late after Transparency International also second round of elections As for the regions, majoritarian elec- liamentary elections, the necessary polling equipment was reported on numerous other irregu- Twill be held in 18 out of 22 precincts of tions ended in the fi rst round in 17 pre- reported 70 voting irregu- not delivered on time. larities, including cases when voters Tbilisi. cincts. A second round of majoritarian Tlarities and violations as of 4:00 pm The NGO later reported at 2:00 pm with expired IDs were allowed to vote; The CEC said that all polling stations elections will be held in 34 out of 51 local time on October 8. that voting in the same precinct had to multiple people being allowed to enter in the capital have been counted and the precincts. According to Transparency, the most be temporarily suspended as a fi ght polling booths at one time, as well as second round of elections will be held Candidates of the ruling party Georgian serious cases were reported in numer- involving UNM supporters broke out voters being permitted to vote without in all precincts where the 50 percent Dream (GD) and the opposition party ous districts across the country where in the polling station. making a mark. barrier could not be crossed. United National Movement will take commission members connected to the In at least four districts - Batumi, Krt- The organization, however, empha- The Election Code of Georgia envis- part in the second round of elections in opposition United National Movement sanisi, Kutaisi and Gori - Transparency sized that the elections proceeded ages that the second round must be held 32 out of 34 regional precincts. In the (UNM) refused to participate in the International observers were barred smoothly and relatively peacefully. within 25 days of the fi rst round. The remaining two precincts, the GD candi- ballot draw process. from entering the polling stations. These Transparency International deployed two candidates who show best results dates will compete with the Free Dem- Reports of such incidents were incidents were, however, resolved after 400 observers to monitor this year’s in the fi rst round will take part in the ocrats and the Industrialists. observed in precinct offi ces across an intervention by the national election parliamentary elections in Georgia. GEORGIA TODAY OCTOBER 11 - 13, 2016 POLITICS 3 Foreign Observers of NDI and IRI Assess Georgia’s 2016 Elections in the evening the situation deteriorated BY THEA MORRISON in some areas. “Violence has no place in any election. Although this detracted from the demo- wo foreign observers’ del- cratic contributions of the many Geor- egations of the National gians who had voted and administered Democratic Institute (NDI) polling stations in good faith earlier in and International Republi- the day, it did not appear to substantially Following can Institute (IRI) actively interfere with the ability of most Geor- Tobserved Georgia’s October 8 parlia- gians to express their will through the a vibrant mentary elections throughout the coun- elections,” the NDI statement reads. try and made assessments. They said The NDI also gave certain recommen- and the whole process was mainly calm, but dations to the Central Election Commis- also highlighted some major and minor sion to immediately address the irregu- competitive violations. larities in and disruption to the counting NDI stated that, following a vibrant process to determine the necessity of campaign, and competitive campaign, citizens were recounts or reruns, particularly in those able to cast their votes freely and, in majoritarian races where the outcome citizens most places, counting proceeded in a could be affected. calm and orderly manner. In some elec- “Georgia has run-off elections later were able toral precincts, however, counting was this month, followed by local and pres- disrupted or terminated by unruly and, idential elections over the coming two to cast their in some cases, violent crowds. years. The conduct of those processes Members of the NDI delegation, which will depend on accepting valid results votes freely included former ambassadors and par- and resolving disputes from this October liamentarians, representatives of non- 8 peacefully,” the organization stated. outside its borders, it was encouraging in both rural and urban areas. IRI’s ciency, transparency and to shorten the governmental organizations, and regional IRI also noted that, in general, the elec- to see Georgians participate in these observers also included two teams of time involved in the counting of votes. specialists from eleven countries, visited tions were carried out in a peaceful elections, whether as voters, candidates, observers in Ukraine observing polling • The Georgian parliament needs to more than 80 polling stations in ten environment and refl ected the will of party agents or election offi cials," said at the Georgian Embassy in Kyiv.