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125068
Mon, 05/31/2010 - 09:49
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http://m.oananews.org//node/125068
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Georgia to elect self-government on Sunday.
TBILISI, May 30 (Itar-Tass) -- Georgia will hold elections to local
self-governments (Sakrebulo) on Sunday. Also on Sunday, mayor of the
capital city Tbilisi will be elected.
Fourteen political parties and three election blocs will take part in
the elections.
According to the Georgian Central Election Commission, 3,544,770
eligible voters have been registered in the country. The elections will be
held both under the proportional and majority voting systems. Parties and
blocs that will overcome the 5-percent barrier will win seats in local
self-governments in Georgia's cities and districts, and those that will
overcome the 4-percent barrier will win seats in Tbilisi's Sakrebulo.
Tbilisi is the only Georgian city, which holds direct elections of its
mayor while heads of other cities are elected by the local
self-governments from among its members. It will be the first elections of
Tbilisi mayor, earlier the mayor was elected from among the Skrebulo
members. A total of nine candidates are running for the post of Tbilisi
mayor, including incumbent mayor Gigi Ugulava (the ruling United National
Movement party), Georgia's former permanent representative to the United
Nations Irakliy Alasaniya (Alliance for Georgia), Zviad Dzidziguri
(National Council political association), businessman Gogi Topadze
(Industry to Save Georgia party), etc. The mayor of Tbilisi is elected for
the term of four years.
Many opposition parties call Sunday's elections as a "test of
political forces" and warn the authorities against falsifications that
might lead to protest actions. Meanwhile, the authorities say that
"allegations about strives to falsify the elections stem from the
opposition intention to justify its possible defeat beforehand." A number
of opposition parties, including the Labour Party and the Democratic
Movement United Georgia led by ex-speaker of the national parliament Nino
Burdzhanadze, refrained from taking part in the elections, saying that
"these elections would not change the general political situation in the
country and it is necessary to carry on peaceful struggle for early
presidential elections and overhaul of all government bodies."
About 10,000 local observers, as well as more than 1,500 foreign
observers, including 370 from the OSCE, 20 from the Council of Europe,
will monitor the elections.
.Two moderate earthquakes hit Russia's Kamchatka and Kuril coasts.
PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, May 30 (Itar-Tass) -- A magnitude 4.6
earthquake has hit Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka peninsula, the Russian
Academy of Sciences' Geophysical Service said on Sunday.
According to the service, the earth tremor was registered at 03:15
local time (19:15 Moscow time on May 29). The epicentre was located in the
Pacific ocean some 23 kilometers to the south of the Shipunsky cape and 82
kilometers to the east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The quake
focus was at the depth of 50 kilometers.
Earlier in the day, a magnitude 3.8 earthquake was registered 100
kilometers to the south-east of the Kuril Island of Shiashkotan at 03:06
local time (19:06 Moscow time on May 29). The quake's focus was located at
the depth of 60 kilometers.
There are no reports on the victims or damages. No tsunami warning was
issued.
.Germany's Lena wins Eurovision song contest, Russia's Nalitch 11th.
OSLO, May 30 (Itar-Tass) -- Germany's Lena won the Eurovision song
contest on Sunday with her song "Satellite" in the Norwegian capital.
She scored 246 points and beat 24 other contestants.
Lena Mayer-Landrut, who turned 19 last week, was an unknown amateur
when she won Germany's qualifiers for Eurovision. She lives in Hannover
and finished secondary school this spring. Lena's grandfather, Andreas
Mayer-Landrut, twice headed FRG diplomatic mission to the former Soviet
Union.
Russia's Peter Nalitch was 11th with his song "Lost and Forgotten."
.Church bell-ringers festival opens in Tatarstan on Sunday.
KAZAN, May 30 (Itar-Tass) -- The eighth nationwide festival of church
bell-ringers opens in the town of Alexeyevskoye in the republic of
Tatarstan on Sunday.
"The festival involving the country's best bell-ringers is
traditionally held at the Church of Resurrection in Alexeyevskoye with the
blessing of Archbishop of Kazan and Tatarstan Anastasy," Olga Sharova, the
church's precentor told Itar-Tass.
According to the festival organizers, about 40 bell-ringers arrived in
Alexeyevskoye from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Rostov Veliky,
Salekhard, Kamensk-Uralsky and Stavropol.
The Church of Resurrection in Alexeyevskoye was foundede in 1840 and
was razed to the ground by communists in the 1930th. It was restored in
2002 at the expense of parishioners.
-0-ras
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