Opposition asks permission from Tbilisi City Hall to renew protests
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The European Georgia parliamentary opposition party has requested a permission from Tbilisi City Hall to renew protests in the capital around the issue of 2020 parliamentary elections, sparked after parliament rejected an early transition to a fully-proportional electoral system last year.
The party member Irakli Kiknavelidze has stated earlier today that rallies will renew starting from February 4, with the involvement of “all political parties and civic activists.”
He said that the rallies are “against the ruling Georgian Dream party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili and his decision to reject the ruling party proposed election bill in November 2019,” which would have moved the country to a fully proportional electoral system starting from 2020 instead of 2024.
Kiknavelidze said that they are going to “make problems for the ruling party with erecting barriers and blocking of state buildings.”
The shameful government officials who think that they will stay in power are strongly mistaken. We have informed Tbilisi City Hall regarding the rallies. We had no obligation to do so, it was our goodwill,” Kiknavelidze said.
Protests in Tbilisi were sparked after the Georgian parliament rejected the ruling-party proposed bill. The opposition is accusing the government of “deliberately rejecting” the bill and is demanding the 2020 elections be held per the “adapted German model”, which distributes seats in parliament based on votes received in proportional voting.
In December 2019 the ruling party made a new offer to the opposition, stating that they are ready for 100 spots in parliament to be elected via the proportional electoral system and the remaining 50 per the majoritarian system in the 2020 parliamentary elections.
Opposition stated that the offer is unacceptable.
The diplomatic corps have already mediated four meetings between the opposition and the ruling party to help them reach an agreement. The fifth meeting has not been planned yet.
Tbilisi City Court has sentenced member of the Shecvale (change) youth movement, Beka Papashvili to five days in administrative detention since he had been arrested at a protest rally near the Tbilisi Parliament building on November 28.
The diplomatic corps in Georgia has offered to orchestrate a meeting between the ruling party and the opposition which may take place early tomorrow, former Parliament Speaker, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party MP Irakli Kobakhidze has stated. The EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell says that “he is happy” the meeting will take place.
Police have dispersed a rally near the parliament building at 5 a.m. earlier today. 28 individuals have been detained while three others have received injuries, the Georgian Interior Ministry reports. Law enforcers used water cannons to open the entrances of the legislative body which were blocked by the opposition and demonstrators protesting the rejection of an election reform bill on November 14.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party proposed bill on holding of 2020 parliamentary elections with a fully proportional voting system and a zero threshold has been scrapped as 101 MPs instead of mandatory 113 voted for it. 141 of total 150 MPs have been registered for the vote earlier today. However, 37 abstained from voting and three voted against.