US Congressman Kinzinger: rejection of election bill in Georgia a gift for Putin
US Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger says that the Georgian people demand and deserve better than what their parliament showed them on Thursday. Photo: AP.
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US Congressman Adam Kinzinger, one of the initiators of the US Support Act to Georgia, has stated that that the failure [of the Georgian parliament] to deliver constitutional amendment [on Thursday] will be a gift for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The failure will destroy the progress Georgia has made to reach complete independence and separation from an aggressive, encroaching neighbor in Russia,” Kinzinger wrote after the Georgian parliament rejected a ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party proposed bill to transition to a fully proportional electoral system from 2020.
Kinzinger said that “I was shocked to hear about the collapse of promised reforms” in the Georgia parliament, after officials downvoted the move to a proportional election system.
Shocked & disappointed by Georgia Parliament’s downvote on moving to a proportional election system. The Georgian people deserve better. Failure to pass this important reform will destroy the progress Georgia has made in securing its independence. https://t.co/XH2DVkA5lp
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) November 14, 2019
Kinzinger commented on his recent visit to Georgia:
During my visit to the country last week, I was pleased by what seemed to be the inevitability of this reform package. This commitment was made to the international community, and most importantly, to the Georgian people. It is my hope that this situation can be fixed – and fixed very soon,” he said.
Kinzinger stated that “when we look at this region, it is important to remember that Russia is a failing country courtesy of its repressive governance. Georgia is not Russia, and the Georgian people demand and deserve better than what their parliament showed them.”
The US embassy to Georgia has also stated that they are disappointed by the rejection of the bill, as well as PACE monitors.
Former Parliament Speaker of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze says that the core of the ruling party is also disappointed as they initiated the change.
Demonstrators say that they will offer a plan to the government later today on how to conduct 2020 elections with a fully proportional electoral system. Photo: 1TV.
The founder and head of the Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili says that he failed to convince several ruling party MPs [three GD MPs voted against the bill and 37 others abstained from voting] to vote for the bill and accused the opposition of staging provocations which discouraged the MPs to vote.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party proposed bill on holding 2020 parliamentary elections per a fully proportional voting system and a zero per cent entry threshold was scrapped as only 101 MPs voted for it instead of mandatory 113 in the 150-member parliament [where the GD has less than 100 MPs].
Vice Parliament Speaker of Georgia Tamar Chugoshvili and eight fellow MPs have left the Georgian Dream ruling party after the rejection of the bill, while demonstrators and the opposition blocked Rustaveli Avenue in protest.
Demonstrators, who are demanding snap proportional elections conducted by an interim government, vow to offer an “outcome” to the government from the situation later today, at about 12 p.m.
The ruling party accepted the conduct of 2020 parliamentary elections on a fully proportional system amid the June public protests in Tbilisi, as it was one of the three demands of demonstrators to stop rallies.
Georgian opposition parties and young civic activists who participated in June’s anti-occupation rallies have set out their main demands after the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party proposed election bill was scrapped on Thursday.
Giorgi Begadze is the ninth MP to leave the Georgian Dream (GD) ruling party after the recent rejection of the GD-proposed election bill. Begadze is the majoritarian MP of the ruling party in Rustavi, a town close to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
Mariam Jashi, head of the Parliament’s Education, Culture and Science Committee, is the eighth MP to leave the Georgian Dream (GD) ruling party after today’s rejection of the GD-proposed election bill.
The founder and head of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party Bidzina Ivanishvili says that he has been supportive of a transition to a fully proportional election system from 2020 and is “very sorry” the GD-proposed bill was rejected earlier today.
Three MPs of the Conservative party have left the Georgian Dream ruling party after the parliament rejected the ruling party proposed election bill yesterday on the transition to a fully proportional electoral system from 2020.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell has met with the head of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party Bidzina Ivanishvili and Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze to “find solutions” after the rejection of the ruling party proposed election bill in parliament yesterday. Hartzell stated that the EU expected tension to follow the rejection of the bill.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party says that public trust and support and not electoral systems wins elections, responding to the tension triggered after the rejection of the GD proposed election bill yesterday, offering the transition to a fully proportional electoral system from 2020 instead of 2024.“The election reform is still in progress, and with the maximal fulfilment of OSCE recommendations, it will lead to even more transparent and fair election environment for the next year,” Talakvadze said.
Four individuals protesting the decision of the Georgian parliament yesterday to reject a bill that would provide for fully proportional elections in the country were detained by the building of the Adjara regional government and later released by a judge in the Black Sea city of Batumi.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia spoke of the importance of a proportional electoral system yesterday, saying it would “qualitatively change” the political culture in Georgia. “We should remember that the country will have a proportional system as we have stated it in the constitution starting 2024”, Gakharia stated.