GD Raises GEL 1.85 mln in Donations in Jan.-July

Civil Georgia

Parties united in the Georgian Dream coalition received total of GEL 1.85 million (about USD 1.1 million) in donations from individual donors in a period between January and end of July of this year, according to filings with the State Audit Office, which is in charge of monitoring political finances.

Lion’s share of these donations was contributed to PM Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia (GDDG) party, which raised GEL 1.57 million from about 114 individual donors in January-July, 2013.

Donations to other five parties within the GD coalition amounted to GEL 275,999 in the same period of this year. Conservative Party raised GEL 99,995; Our Georgia-Free Democrats – GEL 96,556; Republican Party – GEL 54,451 and National Forum – GEL 24,997. Industrialist Party, which is also part of GD coalition, reported no donations this year.

President Saakashvili’s UNM party, which last year received over GEL 20.8 million in donations, 4.4 times more than GD, reported to the State Audit Office only two non-monetary donations this year with total worth of GEL 16,800.