Parliament to discuss election bill on Sunday, opposition refuses to vote
The bill was drafted per an agreement between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the united opposition back in March 2020. Photo: RFE/RL.
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The Georgian parliament will discuss a bill regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections in the autumn on Sunday, June 21, in its first reading.
The opposition parties which support the amendments say that they will not vote for the bill as the ruling Georgian Dream party ‘refuses to fully abide by the March 8 election agreement,’ made in the talks mediated by the diplomatic corps.
The opposition says that the last precondition for them to vote for the bill is the release of a co-founder of the opposition-minded TV channel Giorgi Rurua.
The adoption of the constitutional changes, which is planned for June 29, needs at least 113 votes in the 150-member parliament.
If the opposition refuses to vote for it, the bill may be rejected.
The opposition continues to demand Rurua's release.
In the agreement reached on March 8 through the mediation of the diplomatic corps, the Georgian Dream party and the united opposition agreed 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 opposition says that the ruling party also agreed to release convicted opposition leaders and members, which the ruling party did not confirm.
President Salome Zurabishvili pardoned two opposition leaders back in May ‘to help the fulfilment of the election agreement and avoid speculations and tension, not because the opposition leaders were political prisoners.’
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia did not welcome the pardon of opposition leaders Gigi Ugulava and Irakli Okruashvili.
The country’s foreign partners say that the adoption of the bill is crucial.
The United National Movement (UNM) opposition party has denied to participate in parliament's work despite the recent election deal with the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party last week, stating that not all conditions of the agreement have been fulfilled.
The European People’s Party (EPP) is concerned that the co-founder of Georgian opposition-minded TV channel Mtavari Arkhi Giorgi Rurua remains in prison, the president of the party and former head of the European Council Donald Tusk said.
Tbilisi City Court has once again refused bail for the co-founder of the opposition-minded TV channel Mtavari Arkhi Giorgi Rurua, who has been charged with the illegal possession of firearms.
Twenty-six opposition parties and one independent MP have released a joint statement earlier today in which they urged the country’s foreign partners ‘to remind’ the ruling Georgian Dream party ‘how important it is to fully fulfil the March 8 election agreements’ with the opposition.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakaharia has responded to the President of the European People's Party (EPP) and former head of the European Council Donald Tusk, who urged the Georgian Dream government to ‘fully abide by the March 8 election agreement’ and release co-founder of the opposition-minded TV channel Mtavari Arkhi Giorgi Rurua.
Georgian opposition parties have named six of eight joint majoritarian candidates for Tbilisi in the upcoming parliamentary elections in the Autumn.
Foreign ambassadors have urged all parties of the March election agreement to ‘fully abide by the terms’ as Georgian parliament will vote on the election bill drafted per the agreement, in its first reading, on Sunday.
With 136 votes in favour and five against, the Georgian parliament has passed an electoral bill establishing a more proportional electoral system in its first hearing today. The bill says that 120 seats in parliament will be distributed based on the votes received in proportional elections, while remaining 30 per the votes received in majoritarian elections.