President Zurabishvili: we all vote to build a dream country
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Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has cast her vote in central Tbilisi earlier today, stating that ‘today, we all vote to build a dream country - a democratic, European state.’
Zurabishvili has urged people to go to polling stations as ‘voting is absolutely safe, all measures have been taken for this.’
She stated that Georgia is an European state and the country will take a further step forward to its Euro-Atlantic integration after holding the ‘free, fair and transparent elections.’
Georgians are heading to the polls today to elect the country’s 10th national legislature since independence from the Soviet Union back in 1991.
The ruling Georgian Dream party chairperson Bidzina Ivanishvili has stated that he has voted for the country’s development, stability, peace and Georgia’s European future.
Georgians are heading to the polls today to elect the country’s 10th national legislature since independence from the Soviet Union back in 1991. For the first time, the elections will be held per a mixed electoral system, with 120 members of parliament (MP) to be elected via party lists and the remaining 30 running in single-member majoritarian districts.An election bloc or party which receives less than 40.54 per cent of votes (less than 76 seats in the 150-member parliament) in the proportional elections will not be able to form a government.
Opposition political parties have agreed not to form a coalition government with the ruling Georgian Dream party after the parliamentary elections tomorrow if the ruling party receives less than 40 per cent of votes in the proportional elections. Per the constitutional amendments earlier this year none of parties will be able to form the government alone if they receive less than 40 per cent of votes in the proportional elections.
On election day the European diplomatic watch will assemble no less than 70 teams and visit some 1000 polling stations on election day throughout the country, said EU ambassador Carl Hartzell.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia cast his vote earlier today in Tbilisi, stating he ‘voted for the future as no one can imagine a return to the past.’
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs says parliamentary elections are proceeding peacefully and no serious violations have taken place so far throughout the country.
A total of 292,587 voters (8.3% of eligible voters) have cast their ballots in the Georgian parliamentary elections by 10 a.m.