Senator Jim Risch: 'I expect Georgia’s political parties to fully implement the March 8 deal'
On March 8 the ruling Georgian Dream party and the united opposition reached an agreement to hold the upcoming parliamentary elections this October with 120 seats in the legislative body to be distributed via a proportional vote and the remaining 30 via the majoritarian system. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch has posted on his Twitter account that he expects political parties in Georgia to fully implement the March 8 agreement.
I expect Georgia’s political parties to fully implement their March agreement, including the release of political prisoners and progress towards a new electoral system. https://t.co/0nSWlZN9gJ
— U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (@SenateForeign) May 12, 2020
At the same time Risch shared a statement released by the US Embassy on the March 8 agreement.
The statement reads that the March 8 agreement was a 'historic achievement' by the political forces of Georgia, intended to depolarise Georgia’s political system and create a better environment for the October parliamentary elections following the failure of promised constitutional amendments to move to fully proportional parliamentary elections in 2020.
- We note that this agreement is composed of two parts — one focused on the election system and the other on addressing the appearance of political interference in the judicial system. We call upon all sides to uphold the letter and spirit of both parts of the agreement with a view to its successful implementation", reads the statement.
- Foreign ambassadors urge gov't, opposition to "uphold" March agrement on elections
On March 8 the ruling Georgian Dream party and the united opposition reached an agreement to hold the upcoming parliamentary elections this October with 120 seats in the legislative body to be distributed via a proportional vote and the remaining 30 via the majoritarian system.
The agreement also foresees a fair composition of election districts, a 1% entry threshold, and a cap recognising that no single party that wins less than 40% of the votes should be able to form a majority in the next parliament.
A bill has been registered in parliament per the agreement of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and the opposition on March 8.
The ruling Georgian Dream party and the united opposition have reached an agreement on holding the upcoming parliamentary elections this October with 120 seats in the legislative body to be distributed via a proportional vote and the remaining 30 via the majoritarian system.
Foreign ambassadors in Georgia, who have been working as facilitators in the dialogue between the government and opposition on 2020 election model, on Monday responded to calls to confirm contents of the March 8 agreement between the two parties by calling on them to "uphold" the deal.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia says that the placement of the ruling party and the opposition March 8 election agreement at any risk is ‘absolutely unacceptable’, responding to the opposition’s allegations that the Georgian Dream ruling party refuses to fully abide by the agreement.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze has responded to the statement of US Senator James Risch on an agreement between the ruling party and the opposition, stating that there are no political prisoners in Georgia.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili announced today that she is pardoning Georgian opposition politicians Gigi Ugulava and Irakli Okruashvili, which she said was ‘a very difficult decision’. Salome Zurabishvili said although she is very well aware of the ‘real actions and crimes’ of the two former officials, Ugulava and Okruashvili, nevertheless, as the president, she is pardoning them for the sake of 'the country’s interests’.