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.
Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze has urged for peaceful manifestations and call upon police to prevent the actions “of provocative groups.”
Rallies were sparked in Tbilisi after 40 MPs of the ruling party refused to vote for the bill proposed by their own party, suggesting an early transition to a fully proportional electoral system starting from 2020 instead of scheduled 2024.
The opposition is set to announce their plan on ongoing protests later today. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
Ruling party top figures stated that they failed to persuade the MPs elected in single-mandate constituencies to vote for the bill, describing the rejection as “very sad.”
The GD accepted the early transition in the summer, during June protests, to calm the crowds angered by the presence of Russian MPs, from the occupant country, in Georgian parliament.
The opposition, which has been demanding the change for years, says that the ruling party has “cheated people.”
Now the opposition is demanding “an adapted German electoral model” for 2020 elections, with the ruling party stating that the model “is contradicting the Georgian constitution.”
Like the current Georgian mixed electoral system, the German model is also mixed. However, it allows for the distribution of seats in parliament based on the votes received in proportional voting.