Ruling party presents 150-member party list, vows to take at least 100 seats in parliament
The Georgian Dream ruling party says it will receive more than 50 per cent of votes in the October 31 parliamentary elections. Photo: Georgian Dream press office.
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The Georgian Dream ruling party has presented its party list to the country’s Central Election Commission earlier today, stating that it has ‘all resources’ to take at least 100 seats in the 150-member parliament.
The Executive Secretary of the Georgian Dream Irakli Kobakhidze says that ‘we have expectations to receive more than 50 per cent of votes’ in the October 31 elections, ‘which will allow us to have 30 majoritarian MPs and 70 MPs elected via the party-list.’
We will need no cooperation with other parties to form a government,” Kobakhidze said, as the party alone will be able to form a government ‘which will receive 40.54 per cent of votes in the proportional elections.’
Current PM Giorgi Gakharia, Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze, Irakli Kobakhidze, former Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani, MP Mamuka Mdinaradze, MP Kakhaber Kuchava, MP Giorgi Kakhiani, Mariam Kvrivishvili, Mikheil Sarjveladze and Maia Bitadze are the top ten of the 150-member party list.
The ruling party presented its majoritarian candidates in July.
The elections on October 31 will be held in a different manner from preceding elections, with 120 MPs elected per the party-list based electoral system and the remaining 30 per the majoritarian electoral system.
The election bloc or party which will receive less than 40.54 per cent of votes in the proportional elections will not be able to form a government alone, without the cooperation with other political parties in parliament.
On the day, eight years ago, the Georgian Dream coalition founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili defeated the nine-year-rule of the United National Movement. Photo: Georgian Dream press office.
The mandates in the proportional elections will be distributed among the parties, election blocs, which will receive at least one per cent of votes.
Blocs will be allowed in the 2020 elections. However, with a different election threshold. The percentage of votes received by election blocs must at least amount to 1 percent x number of the parties in the bloc.
Most of the polls say that the ruling party will win the elections.
From 2024 Georgia is scheduled to transfer to a fully proportional electoral system.
Opposition party European Georgia says it will not form a coalition with the ruling Georgian Dream party and also will not support ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili as a Prime Minister.
The ruling party will keep Giorgi Gakharia as its candidate for prime minister because of his high level of professionalism and patriotism, as well as his excellent leadership and management skills. Archil Talakvadze will again serve as the parliament speaker as well.
The opposition says that the ruling party’s majoritarian candidates, who have been nominated earlier today, have been selected according to their ‘obedience to the founder and the head of the ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili’ and that ‘they are symbols of a bankrupt political force.’
The ruling Georgian Dream party has nominated all 30 of its majoritarian candidates for the upcoming October parliamentary elections, both for the eight constituencies of the capital Tbilisi and the regions. The elections in the autumn will be held in a different manner, with 120 MPs elected per the party-list based electoral system and the remaining 30 per the majoritarian electoral model. Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said that the elections will be held ‘in full line with democratic standards and Georgian Dream will celebrate a victory in a fair fight.’
The opposition United National Movement has registered its party list with the Central Election Commission today with acclaimed Georgian singer and actor Buba Kikabidze at the top of its list. UNM member Tina Bokuchava told journalists that Kikabidze is a ‘symbol of patriotism’ and therefore the party has named him first.
By 6 p.m. on October 1, 52 political parties, including 2 election blocs out of the registered 58 political entities had presented their party lists to the Central Election Commission. Meanwhile, 22 political parties out of 25 will compete for 21 seats (3 majoritarian and 18 proportional) on the Adjara Supreme Council.
The ruling Georgian Dream party founder and chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili said at the presentation of party list and program earlier today that Georgia has never had such a long record of stable, peaceful and democratic development since the restoration of independence in 1990s.
Ruling Georgian Dream party chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili has released a statement condemning ‘all forms of violence’ undermining the electoral process and the quality of the country’s democracy.
"We must go to the elections so that peace and stability may be uninterrupted", the ruling Georgian Dream party founder and chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili said, addressing the nation a day before the parliamentary elections on October 31.