On 21 June, the Georgian parliament voted in favour of the bill to establish a more proportional electoral system in the country in its first reading. 136 parliamentarians, including members of the European Georgia opposition party, voted for the new bill. This document states that 120 seats in parliament will be distributed based on the votes received in proportional elections, while remaining 30 will be allotted through the votes received in majoritarian elections.
The European Georgia party said that they would not vote for the bill in its second and the third readings if the ruling party ‘refuses to fully abide by the Match 8 election agreement and if co-founder of opposition-minded TV channel Mtavari Arkhi Giorgi Rurua remains in prison.’
The bill’s passing was widely praised by Georgia’s international partners. The US embassy said that passing the bill ensures a more proportional electoral system for the 2020 parliamentary elections and ‘is an important first step towards greater parliamentary pluralism’.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell tweeted that he hopes “all sides will take responsibility to ensure the bill’s final success.” The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice- President of European Commission Josep Borrell also hoped “to see support by all sides to constitutional amendments for a new election system”.
The opposition parties in Georgia have started preparing for the upcoming elections. The united Georgian opposition had already named their six of eight joint majoritarian candidates for Tbilisi. Those are: Nika Melia (United National Movement), Levan Khabeishvili (United National Movement), Shalva Natelashvili (Labour Party), Giorgi Vashadze (New Georgia), Shalva Shavgulidze (Free Democrats) and Elene Khoshtaria (European Georgia).
The Lelo for Georgia political party, created last year by the co-founders of TBC Bank Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, also announced that it might cooperate with Georgia’s fourth President Giorgi Margvelashvili in the upcoming parliamentary elections in order to bring more tangible results.
The High Council of Justice member Anna Dolidze, opposition leader Aleko Elisashvili and independent MP Levan Koberidze announced the creation of a new political platform with plans to transform it into a political party. Before announcing the new political platform yesterday, seven NGOs, including Transparency International Georgia and the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, urged Dolidze to leave her post if she had plans to enter politics.
