million, including projects to improve drinking water and sewage systems and to build a gas storage facility. Merkel says Germany will soon designate Georgia as a safe country of origin. September 8 September – Breakaway Abkhazia's prime minister, Gennady Gagulia dies when his car is hit by a vehicle driven by a young Abkhaz man, allegedly "under the influence of narcotics". 16 September – Several hundreds of protesters, inspired by a sermon of Ilia II, head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, against cannabis legalization, took to the streets of Tbilisi after the government hints Georgia might cultivate and export cannabis for medical use. October 1 October – A group of thirteen leading civil society organizations (CSO) of Georgia release a statement condemning "a severe crisis in the governance system, clear signs of high level corruption and informal, clan rule", leading to a series of verbal attacks from the ruling party and government officials against the CSOs. 11 October – Georgia is named the Guest of Honor at the 2018 edition of the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest literary event. 20 October – The opposition Girchi Party activists hold Cannabis Legalization Festival in Deda Ena Park in downtown Tbilisi to protest the intention of the Parliament of Georgia to restrict consumption regulations for cannabis. Eleven activists, including the party leader and the candidate for the upcoming presidential election, are detained during the event, but released later that day. 28 October – No candidate is able to secure more than 50% of votes in the Georgian presidential elections; the vote goes into the runoff between two candidates: independent Salome Zurabishvili, supported by the ruling Georgian Dream party and Grigol Vashadze from the opposition United National Movement-led coalition. November 28 November – Presidential runoff results in the ruling party-endorsed candidate and former French diplomat Salome Zurabishvili becoming President of Georgia with 59.62% of votes. Ahead of the second round, opposition and local watchdogs complained about vote buying and intimidation of voters. International observers assess the elections as competitive and fee, stressing that "one side enjoyed an undue advantage and the negative character of the campaign on both sides undermined the process". December 16 December – Salome Zurabishvili is sworn-in as President of Georgia in Telavi. Police blocks some roads to stop a rally in support of the defeated opposition candidate Grigol Vashadze, who has refused to accept the election result. In the