Opposition set to present electoral reform bill in parliament, requests ombudsperson to send it to OSCE
The opposition says it will register their bill in parliament either later today or tomorrow. Photo: IPN.
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About 30 opposition parties, who have offered the transfer to ‘an adapted version of the German electoral model’ for the 2020 parliamentary elections, say they will register the bill in parliament in the coming days and are requesting Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria send the bill to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) for evaluations.
The opposition says it will wait for the ODIHR’s assessment of the bill and its conclusion whether or not the bill is in line with the Georgian Constitution.
The bill was drafted after the rejection of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party proposed election bill on November 14, which suggested the early transition to a fully proportional electoral system starting from 2020 instead of scheduled 2024.
The opposition, which says that that GD “deliberately rejected the bill and cheated people,” is now demanding the 2020 elections to be held per their proposed bill which allows for the distribution of seats in parliament based on the votes received in proportional voting.
Public Defender Nino Lomjaria says that she is ready to send the opposition bill to OSCE. Photo: Public Defender's press office.
Lomjaria says that she is ready to send the bill to ODIHR after it is registered in the legislative body, “as it is a mandatory procedure.”
ODIHR has already been informed [by my office] that we intend to send the bill to them. However, initially, the bill must be registered,” Lomjaria says.
Ruling party MP and First Vice Speaker Giorgi Volski says that the “attempt of the opposition to get the ODIHR involved in the ongoing electoral row is serving the goal of stretching time, misinforming the people and maintaining tension.”
He says that the ODIHR has nothing to do with the issue.
While in Georgia the Venice Commission members said that the issue is beyond their scope of competence. Even if we allow the possibility of passing the bill, which is absurd, on the second day the Constitutional Court of Georgia may ban it and we will end up in an even more severe crisis,” Volski said.
The ruling party says that the electoral model offered by the opposition for the 2020 elections contradicts the Georgian constitution.
The Georgian Interior Ministry is investigating a clash late yesterday which left five with minor injuries at the central office of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party in Tbilisi. The clash took place between demonstrators protesting the rejection of the GD-proposed election bill on November 14 and supporters of the ruling party. The demonstrators, who accuse the ruling party of “deliberately rejecting” its own bill, say that all five injured were “attacked” by the ruling party supporters.
About 30 opposition parties, including the parliamentary opposition, have presented an ‘adapted version’ of the German electoral model for Georgia’s 2020 parliamentary elections amid protests in Tbilisi sparked by the rejection of the ruling party proposed bill which offered an early transition to a fully proportional electoral system starting 2020 instead of 2024.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party proposed bill on holding of 2020 parliamentary elections with a fully proportional voting system and a zero threshold has been scrapped as 101 MPs instead of mandatory 113 voted for it. 141 of total 150 MPs have been registered for the vote earlier today. However, 37 abstained from voting and three voted against.
The Head of the Council of Europe (CoE) Office in Georgia Christian Urse says that diplomatic corps are now focused on the dialogue between the ruling party and the opposition for the 2020 elections in Georgia as the Georgian constitution allows the transition to a fully proportional electoral system from 2024 and the problems related to election systems will be removed automatically.
The EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell says that the Georgian Dream ruling party and the opposition coming to a consensus soon regarding the electoral system for the 2020 parliamentary elections is unrealistic.
Eleven majoritarian MPs of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, who rejected the party proposed bill on an early transition to a fully proportional elections on November 14, are set to collect 200,000 signatures from voters to initiate a bill to parliament on the transition to a fully majoritarian elections from 2024.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has made an agreement with its majoritarian MPs who are proposing a fully majoritarian electoral system and announced constitutional amendments before the 2020 parliamentary elections. The party says that after the amendments take place, there will be no demands for a transition to fully majoritarian elections by its MPs.
Leader of the European Georgia opposition party Giga Bokeria has been summoned for interrogation by the Prosecutor’s Office for alleged abuse of authority while serving as secretary of the National Security Council under the United National Movement leadership. The Prosecutor’s Office says they have questions on various agreements made by the National Security Council under Bokeria.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has made a new offer to the opposition ahead of today’s meeting, stating that they are ready for 100 spots in parliament to be elected via the proportional electoral system and the remaining 50 per the majoritarian system in the 2020 parliamentary elections.
Opposition parties have stated that the new offer of the ruling Georgian Dream party on electing 100 MPs via the proportional and remaining 50 via majoritarian voting ‘not only for the 2020 elections,’ is ‘absolutely unacceptable and is another attempt to trick the people.”
Ten individuals, mostly civic activists, have been detained at parliament in Tbilisi late yesterday for disobedience to the police and hooliganism as police removed tents from the scene and set up New Year's attractions for children. A member of the civic movement Shame Giga Makarashvili says that Zuka Berdzenishvili, Beka Kokaia, Beka Basilaia and Romeo Parulava are among the detainees.
Five of 10 individuals detained at parliament late yesterday have been released before a trial on January 6, while the trial of remaining five has been postponed.
Confrontation has erupted between police and the members of Shecvale (change) youth movement in front of the Georgian parliament building, in central Tbilisi, earlier today.
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in its opinion on the draft amendments to the election code of Georgia that "the choice of the electoral system is a sovereign decision of the state, so long as the chosen electoral system is consistent with the state’s obligations under international law. International standards do not prescribe the choice of electoral systems".