Amendments to Electoral Code Passed at the First Reading Include Gender

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POLITICS Amendments to electoral code passed at the first UNICEF to provide reading include gender quotas, party funding psychological support for young people and their parents

FULL STORY ON Page 2 ECONOMICS Police, first-aid personnel, social workers and others to receive increased salaries

MP and author of changes in the electoral code, Irakli Kobakhidze said that the introduction of gender quotas doesn’t contradict the Constitution of Georgia.

FULL STORY ON Page 3 during the 2020 elections. One party/bloc be banned from election campaigning. proposition will increase for the 2032 will not be able to use its commercial time Ministries and other state bodies will race. for the interests of other political parties be banned from placing commercials on According to the bill, the funding of By Natalia Kochiashvili or blocs. Unproved income will be consid- implemented projects two months before the parties will change accordingly: If a ered an illegal contribution. election day. party receives 50,000 votes in the elec- t the extraordinary session held on As for campaigns, giving more than Regarding the quotas, before the 2028 tions (three per cent of the total vote) the A July 1st, the Parliament of Georgia the specified free or paid TV time for parliamentary elections, parties and party will receive ¢15 for a single vote adopted the amendments to the Electoral parties or blocs will be considered an il- election blocs must present party lists in in state funding – a total of ¢750,000. Code at the first reading. The changes legal contribution. Posting of campaign which one-fourth of candidates will be a For each vote after 50,000 votes, the were initiated by the Speaker of the Par- materials within 25 meters from the woman. Otherwise the party will not be party will receive ¢5. Parties with more liament, Archil Talakvadze, and other polling station will be banned. Public registered. For the 2028 parliamentary gender-balanced election lists will receive members of the Georgian Dream - Irakli school teachers, members of religious elections themselves, one-third of party additional state funding. Kobakhidze, Anri Okhanashvili and Da- organisations and the bar association will lists must consist of women, while this Before the voting, the amendments to vit Matikashvili. the Electoral Code were responded to by Prior to the vote, Archil Talakvadze the non-governmental organization Geor- said at the bureau meeting that the gian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) amendments to the Electoral Code in- and it was clarified that the bill needs cluded ‘tangible and very progressive’ to be improved to comply with OSCE/ changes, including campaigning, party ODIHR recommendations. funding, media and advertising time, and The organization says that the dis- other important topics. tance for restricting the placement of Ruling party MPs say that the amend- agitation material should be increased ments they have proposed include “most from 25 to 100 meters and the presence of the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations.” of any ‘unauthorized’ person within the According to the amendments, non- same radius should be prohibited. partisan members of lower-level election GYLA believes that the concept of commissions will be elected with the electoral agitation should be specified support of the majority of non-partisan . It should also be noted that agitation members of the relevant district election involves the dissemination of political commissions which will ensure that the appeals through the personal page of the process is conducted impartially and free social network and attendance at pre- from party interests. election events. Family members will not be employed The organization also draws atten- in the same precinct election commission tion to the ‘period of silence’, according to prevent conflicts of interests and the to which, agitation is prohibited at poll- Individuals appointed by a party to pre- ing stations on election day (violation is cinct election commissions during previ- punishable by ¢2,000) and states that it ous elections will not be able to become should be extended to the day before the non-partisan members of the commissions The amendments need the support of at least 76 MPs in the 150-member parliament. election. P2 | POLITICS FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2020 UNICEF to provide psychological support for young people and their parents

TO PREVENT MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL ISSUES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

By Anastasia Sokhadze

ore than 6,000 young M people and 2,000 parents will receive support un- der the new initiative, which was launched by the United Na- tions Children’s Fund in part- UNICEF’s upcoming program nership with the organization Global Psychiatry. during this time. Structures and The program will provide services will form the basis of online sessions for teenagers long-term services for teens and on managing their psychosocial their parents,” stated Ghasan and emotional stability, ways Khalil, the spokesman for the to deal with stress, behavioral United Nations Children’s Fund disorders, and other issues. in Georgia. “In the current crisis, young The project envisages aware- people are at particular risk ness-raising activities for young for mental health and psycho- people aged 14 to 18 in Tbilisi, social problems. The fear and Gori and Adjara region. It will anxiety caused by the virus is also help parents achieve effec- exacerbated by the fact that tive communication with young young people do not have access people through a positive par- to schools, peer relationships enting program. The project also and have to adjust to the new provides the necessary support reality when interacting with for remote psychosocial and men- friends and parents. Creating tal health in Tbilisi and Batumi. mental health services for young The project will last until the people is especially important Support for children and parents end of 2020.

Boosting Georgia’s public healthcare with digital solutions

NEW LEARNING SYSTEM WILL ENABLE THOUSANDS OF MEDICAL STAFF TO IMPROVE THEIR SKILLS IN TREATING INFECTIOUS DISEASES

TBILISI. 2 July 2020 – Build- Public Health (NCDC), the lead to be better prepared for health to health emergencies and also In addition, the NCDC will ing on a successful response to agency in Georgia’s pandemic emergencies and more efficient help close the gap between big develop guidelines and manuals the first wave of the COVID-19 response, in training 4,000 medi- in crisis response. In Georgia, cities and rural areas, where covering critical areas of public pandemic, Georgia is taking cal personnel across the country the NCDC has taken a lead in medical staff tend to have fewer healthcare, such as infection urgent steps to ensure that in enhanced infection prevention educating medical personnel resources.” prevention and control in medi- its frontline medical person- and control. The initiative relies and staff throughout the coun- The new initiative covers cal institutions and everyday nel are prepared to respond to on USD 150,000 in Swedish try, drawing on the experience 37 medical institutions and the life, the environment and health, any potential second wave and funding. gained during the crisis. NCDC’s 60 regional centres and the prevention and control other future health emergen- “Georgia has managed the With Swedish funding, across Georgia. 3,000 medical of non-communicable diseases. cies. As part of this effort, the first wave of the pandemic well, UNDP will assist the NCDC workers from the clinics desig- “Investments in public health United Nations Development but the crisis is far from over,” in establishing an e-learning nated for COVID-19 treatment are investments in develop- Programme (UNDP) is joining said NCDC Head Amiran Gam- platform to provide doctors, and 1,000 medical staff from ment,” said Eric Illes, Head of hands with the Government of krelidze. “We must spare no ef- nurses and administrative staff regular healthcare institutions Development Cooperation and Sweden to support the National fort to improve public healthcare with an opportunity to attend will be trained in health emer- Deputy Head of Mission at the Center for Disease Control and and increase the professionalism training courses and certifica- gency response. The training Embassy of Sweden to Georgia. of our medical staff to ensure full tion programmes, communicate, will also extend to the opera- “We are proud to support the preparedness for future health exchange experience and receive tors of a specialised hotline for Georgian Government and en- Friday July 3 emergencies. Not only will this practical advice from NCDC medical professionals who will hance public healthcare in very new initiative enable us to con- experts. be trained in infection preven- tangible ways that will save lives Day Sunny tinue coping with COVID-19; “Georgian doctors deserve tion and control. The e-learning in emergencies.” Assistance to it will also benefit our disease respect and admiration for their platform will operate through the NCDC is just one component prevention and control system professionalism and dedication desktop and mobile applica- of a broader six-year programme High: 33°C well beyond the current crisis.” during the pandemic,” said tions, with a built-in chatbot of governance reforms in Georgia The first wave of the pan- UNDP Head Louisa Vinton. and search engine, allowing that UNDP is implementing Night Partly Cloudy demic showed that public health “The new learning system will for real-time consultations and with USD 5 million in funding systems around the world need improve their ability to respond exchange. from Sweden. Low: 20°C

Saturday July 4

Day Sunny Nino Metreveli Commercial Director Mariam Mchedlidze High: 34°C Editor-in-Chief Night Mostly Cloudy Natalia Kochiashvili Executive Editor Nino Kavelashvili Low: 21°C Design and Layout FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2020 ECONOMICS | P3

By Natalia Kochiashvili

alaries of police, first-aid S personnel, village physi- cians, nurses and social workers increased in Georgia, starting 1st of July, Prime Minister of Geor- gia Giorgi Gakharia announced. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the salary of police officers will increase by¢ 125 from this month. According to the agency, the increase in salaries serves to improve the functioning of the agency, improve the conditions of employees and increase motivation. “It is important to establish an effective human resource management system to ensure law and order and public safe- ty,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement. According to the 2020 budget, salaries will be increased for soldiers, firefighters, police and equals, which is ¢50 million from the budget. The salary will be increased for more than 30 thousand employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Remuneration of social agents increased by ¢150. The terms of the employment contract will also be extended. Social agents demanded an improvement in working conditions a few days ago. If the demand was not met, they Georgian citizens above 70 will receive an increased pension starting July 1st with monthly pensions increasing by ¢30. planned a strike. Until now, the salary of so- of senior social agents has also 6 months. According to Giorgi and some will have permanent case, the social agents will re- cial workers was fixed at ¢80, increased by ¢100. Instead of Tsotskolauri, Deputy Minister contracts from the end of the ceive an average salary for the which was ¢4.80 for each fam- 450, they will receive ¢550. of IDPs from the Occupied year. last 3 months. ily surveyed. According to social According to the decision Territories, Labor, Health and The changes also affected Social agent Giorgi Aptsiauri workers, they would earn an of the government, the terms Social Affairs, based on work and increased the amount of says the increase in salaries has average of ¢300-500 per month. of the labor contract of social experience, some social agents leave for social agents, forced not exhausted the problems of This time, the fixed salary agents have been increased to will sign one-year contracts waiting and incentives. In this social workers. They also want to talk to representatives of the Social Services Agency about the cost of visits to families and the cost of transportation. Georgian citizens above 70 years will receive an increased pension starting JulY with monthly pensions increasing by ¢30 to ¢250, announced the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs of Georgia. As for pensioners above 70 living in the highland areas, their pensions have increased to ¢300. Moreover, pensions for individuals with category I dis- abilities and children with dis- abilities will increase to ¢250 as well. “An increase in pensions for people less than 70 years old will be adjusted based on the inflation rate, while an increase of pensions for people above 70 will be adjusted based on 80% of economic growth as well as the inflation rate,” Finance Minister Ivane Matchavariani said back in April. In January, 2020 pensions increased for all pensioners by ¢20. As for retirees (women above 60 and men above 65) living in highland villages, they began receiving an additional 20% on their monthly state pen- Pensions increase to ₾250 for people above 70. sion in 2016.