International

The ruling party in Georgia gets an absolute majority in the elections

The ruling party Sueño Georgiano has the absolute majority in the parliamentary elections of Georgia by obtaining 54.086% of the votes with 99.6% of the ballot.

This was announced by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) after the manual recount of the results, which then places the opposition blocs Coalition for Change, with 10.8%, and Unity -composed of the United National Movement founded by the imprisoned former Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili, and the Renaissance Strategy party-, with 10.12%.

The other two opposition blocs, Georgia Fuerte and Gajaria for Georgia, achieved 8.78% and 7.76% respectively, so that the four opposition blocs access Parliament by exceeding the 5% threshold.

Worst results in the capital

The results of Sueño Georgiano in Tbilisi, where the ballot has already ended, were worse, since it obtained 45.54% of the votes, while the opposition blocs added 45.8% of the support.

The results of the ruling party abroad were also lower, where 74.62% of the votes were scrutinized, only 17.73% of the votes, giving in to the opposition blocs Coalition for Changes (29.08%) and Unity (20.84%).

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CEL

For their part, the opposition blocs Georgia Fuerte and Gajaria for Georgia obtained 14.05 and 8.45% respectively.

Almost two hours after the closing of the polling stations, the CEC gave the first ballots, according to which Sueño Georgiano obtained the majority of the votes sufficient to form a single government.

Three of the four opposition blocs – Coalition for Change, Unity and Strong Georgia – declared that they will not recognize the elections and accused Georgian Dream of having usurped power.

Georgian opposition candidates give up their seats in protest after the ruling victory

The first twenty candidates on the list of the pro-European opposition bloc Coalition for Change today resigned their mandates as deputies in protest against the results of Saturday’s parliamentary elections, in which the ruling party Sueño Georgiano won, which the opposition accuses of being related to the Kremlin.

“The elections were falsified and the results are illegitimate. We do not want to legitimize them with the votes that were stolen from the people of Georgia and we renounce the mandates,” said party list leader Nana Malashjia.

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CEL

The Coalition for Changes bloc was the second most voted political force in these elections, collecting 11.3% of the votes, which gives them the right to 18 seats.

In turn, the United National Movement party, founded by imprisoned former President Mikhail Saakashvili and who is part of the opposition bloc Unidad also announced that it will boycott the Parliament led by Sueño Georgiano.

“Naturally, as we said that we do not recognize the results of the elections, this means that we do not plan to participate in (the sessions of) Parliament. I am sure that there is no doubt about it, when it comes to the Unity bloc,” said the party leader, Tinatin Bokuchava.

The situation reedits what happened in the 2020 parliamentary elections, also rejected by the opposition, which boycotted the work of Parliament and organized massive protests in front of the legislature, some of them violent.

The executive secretary of Sueño Georgiano, Mamuka Midnaradze, proposed to the entire opposition “not to join Parliament.”

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CEL

“Then a good working environment will be established in Parliament, without sabotage. That they remove all their lists from the Central Electoral Commission. And we will work,” he said.

Georgia President does not recognize election results

The President of Georgia, Salomé Zurabizhvili, today refused to recognize the results of the parliamentary elections held the day before in the Caucasian nation and called on Georgians to protest this Monday in front of Parliament.

“These elections cannot be recognized, I do not recognize them. Recognizing them means recognizing that Russia has entered Georgia. The elections were Russian, they used technologies to justify the falsifications,” he said in a speech offered from the presidential palace.

International

Maduro signs Economic Emergency Decree to counter U.S. sanctions on Venezuela

The National Assembly of Venezuela approved on Thursday an economic emergency decree presented this week by the government of President Nicolás Maduro, in response to sanctions and tariffs imposed by the United States.

In March, the government of Donald Trump began suspending licenses for foreign oil companies operating with the state-owned Venezuelan oil company PDVSA and imposed secondary tariffs on crude oil and gas exports. Maduro signed the decree on Tuesday, invoking constitutional articles that allow him to declare states of exception, temporarily restrict constitutional guarantees, or declare a state of emergency in the event of disasters, public calamities, or events that seriously threaten the country’s security.

The emergency decree “is to support national production,” said Delcy Rodríguez, Vice President and Minister of Hydrocarbons, during the document’s presentation.

“The affected oil markets, the fall in oil prices, have already surpassed 30% in our measurement, and this, as we say, is just the beginning,” Rodríguez stated, clarifying that Venezuela’s oil and gas production continues.

Rodríguez also mentioned that foreign oil companies are welcome to operate in Venezuela in accordance with local laws.

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CEL

The United States has set a deadline of May 27 for oil companies operating in Venezuela, including Chevron (U.S.), Eni (Italy), and Repsol (Spain), to wind down their operations and exports.

The decree grants Maduro the authority to implement measures he deems necessary to ensure economic growth, contain inflation, offer special treatment to investors, suspend taxes, or apply exceptions to tax laws, and establish import substitution mechanisms, among other measures.

Maduro and his government have consistently rejected sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries, arguing that they are illegitimate measures constituting an “economic war” designed to cripple Venezuela.

The president and his allies have celebrated what they describe as the country’s resilience despite these measures, although they have historically attributed some economic difficulties and shortages to the sanctions.

This is not the first time Maduro has governed under an emergency decree. In 2016, he signed a similar decree, which was extended until 2021 under the argument of sanctions imposed on Venezuela by Washington.

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CEL

With the Assembly’s approval, the decree must now be sent to the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice.

Central America

U.S. Government says deported migrants should remain in El Salvador for life

The United States government believes that the 238 migrants recently deported to El Salvador should remain in the country “for the rest of their lives.”

This was stated by Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, during a press conference. The following day, in a televised cabinet meeting, she reiterated the government’s commitment to continue its campaign to deport over 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal immigration status.

“We are confident that the people (sent to El Salvador) should be there, and they should stay there for the rest of their lives,” Noem told a group of reporters on Wednesday.

Despite the Trump administration’s defense of its decision to transfer the migrants to the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot), both testimonies from their families and reports from U.S. media outlets have shown that most of those currently detained there have no criminal backgrounds.

International

Italian biologist found dead in Colombia; investigation underway

An Italian scientist has been found dead in Colombia, local authorities confirmed, after body parts were discovered along a trail in the coastal city of Santa Marta on Sunday.

Municipal police said that a bracelet found among the remains belonged to Alessandro Coatti, a biologist who had recently embarked on a journey across South America. Additional human remains were later discovered in two other locations within the city.

According to the police, Coatti had been staying in a local accommodation and was reportedly visiting the scenic Tayrona coastal area on April 5. His whereabouts since that date remain unknown, prompting an urgent investigation.

“There are currently no further details available; the case remains under investigation,” Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office said on Thursday. “It is still unclear what happened or where.”