Georgian President signs new edition of Constitution
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President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili has signed the new edition of Constitution that Parliament adopted on September 26.
Margvelashvili announced the news at a press briefing a short time ago.
The President signed the document despite the fact that he disagrees with some of its parts.
Margvelashvili vetoed the constitutional amendments on October 9, but Parliament overrode the veto with 117 votes on October 13.
These are some of the key amendments into the newest edition of Georgia’s Constitution:
- Georgia will switch to fully proportional elections in 2024;
- The 2020 parliamentary elections will still be held through the existing mixed proportional and majoritarian system but the election threshold will be lowered to 3 percent from 5 percent for these elections only;
- The president will be elected by a special council starting in 2024;
- In 2018 the president will still be elected directly but for a six and not a five year term.
- Selling agricultural lands to foreign nationals will be prohibited.
- The opposition rights in parliament will be boosted, permitting them to create investigative commissions and others.
Another round of constitutional changes is scheduled for next year.
The parliament of Georgia will most likely pass new a round of constitutional amendments in March of 2018, says Parliamentary Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili says that Georgia’s new constitution is a major step forward on the path of the democratic development of the country.
The parliament of Georgia has overridden the president’s veto on the constitutional amendments and confirmed the country’s new constitution that will come into force following the 2018 presidential elections.
Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has vetoed the constitutional changes that the Parliament adopted on September 26. He returned the bill back to the parliament with six recommendations.
Georgia has never been closer to European standards and to the EU than today, and we continue our hard work to become a full member of the European family, says Georgian Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze.
Over a century ago on February 21, 1921, the Constituent Assembly of Georgia adopted the first constitution of the newly independent country. Today Georgia is celebrating the anniversary of the landmark historical document that formed the basis of the country’s contemporary constitution nearly a century ago.
The parliament of Georgia has unanimously voted for final changes to the state constitution at the plenary session yesterday.
The new constitution of Georgia, which was adopted in 2017, has automatically come into play after the yesterday’s presidential inauguration.
The legacy of the constitution of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia, a landmark document approved 101 years ago, was celebrated in the country on Monday by officials and citizens with remarks on the significance of the date for the modern Georgian state.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, on Tuesday said the call by the opposition political party For Georgia for the President to be elected by citizens instead of the electoral college was “wrong” as the constitution “cannot be tailored to some political process”.