Parliament to discuss election bill on Sunday, opposition refuses to vote

The Georgian parliament will discuss a bill regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections in the autumn on Sunday, June 21, in its first reading. 

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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.

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The country’s foreign partners say that the adoption of the bill is crucial.