Televised public discussions of election bill to kick off this week

Public discussions of the election bill which was drafted per the March 8 ruling party-opposition agreement, will kick off on June 4, at 10 a.m. via the Georgian Public Broadcaster. 

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A special parliamentary commission, chaired by Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze, will answer questions asked by Georgian citizens regarding the bill during a live broadcast.

Adjara TV will also provide live broadcasting of the occasion.

The parliament’s organisation commission for public discussions of the bill was created on March 17. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the commission was unable to visit the Georgian regions and answer questions asked by people there. 

The public discussions will precede the discussions of the constitutional changes in parliament. 

The adoption of the bill and making changes in the country’s constitution needs at least 113 votes in the 150-member parliament. 

The bill which was initiated by the ruling Georgian Dream per the March 8 agreement in talks mediated by the diplomatic corps reads that 120 seats in parliament will be distributed based on the votes received in proportional elections, while 30 more seats will be distributed per the majoritarian system only for the upcoming parliamentary elections in the autumn. 

The opposition says that they will not vote for the bill if the ruling party ‘refuses to abide by the last point of the agreement’ and release the co-founder of the opposition-minded TV channel Giorgi Rurua from prison.