Ruling party ready to meet opposition parties separately on election issue
The United National Movement says that the ruling party is trying to split opposition. Photo: Georgian Dream press office.
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The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party has expressed readiness to meet with separate opposition parties as well as the united opposition to reach a deal with them on how to hold the 2020 parliamentary elections.
The United National Movement opposition says that it is an attempt to ‘divide and conquer,’ stating that the ruling party will not achieve its goal “to split the opposition’s unity’ around the election topic.
Members of the Girchi party have already met with ruling party officials to discuss controversies around the upcoming elections, which arose after parliament rejected the ruling party proposed election bill in November 2019 regarding the early transition to a fully proportional electoral system [from 2020 instead of scheduled 2024].
Head of the Girchi party Zurab Japaridze has stated that he 'sees no problem’ in meeting with ruling party officials on the issue.
However, leader of the United National Movement opposition Roman Gotsiridze says that the ruling party, ‘which deliberately rejected the bill last year’, is trying to stretch time and hold the 2020 elections with the current, mixed electoral system [in which 77 MPs are elected based on party lists and remaining 73 via the majoritarian elections].
Roman Gotsiridze from the UNM says that the opposition parties will keep unity on the election issue. Photo: parliament of Georgia press office.
The ruling party is not interested in the dialogue. It is just stretching time to say in the end that all resources for reaching consensus have been used,” Gotsiridze says, adding that ‘no serious opposition party’ will sit separately with the ruling party for negotiations.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell, who is one of the mediators of talks between the opposition and the ruling party on 2020 elections, says that an agreement, ‘which will deescalate tension,’ should be found soon as time is running out.
In June 2020, during protests in Tbilisi, the ruling party promised early transition to a fully proportional system and proposed a bill.
However, in November 2019 many of the ruling party majoritarian MPs refused to vote for the bill and it was rejected.
The opposition, which says that the majoritarian elections are unfair and benefiting ruling parties, has accused the GD of ‘deliberately rejecting the bill’ and took to the streets.
Parliamentary elections will take place in Georgia in the current year. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
The ruling party officials said they were also ‘disappointed’ with the rejection and failed to persuade majoritarian MPs to vote for the bill.
The opposition and the ruling party have held four meetings, mediated by diplomatic corps, to reach a deal on the 2020 elections.
The ruling party offers a 100/50 electoral system for 2020 - 100 proportional and 50 majoritarian seats in parliament - which is unacceptable for the opposition.
The opposition suspended the election-related dialogue with the ruling party after the detention of opposition leader Gigi Ugulava earlier this month.
The ruling Georgian Dream party has urged opposition parties to resume negotiations with them on the 2020 elections, as the opposition decided to suspend dialogue after the conviction of opposition leader Gigi Ugulava earlier this week for embezzlement of 48 million GEL while serving as Tbilisi mayor. 'Being in politics must not be an indulgence to any politician, no matter which party he belongs to. Everyone is equal before law,” Mdinaradze said.
The US embassy to Georgia has reported that they are disappointed that the timing and context of the conviction and sentencing of an opposition leader Gigi Ugulava yesterday has put the election dialogue between opposition parties and the ruling Georgian Dream party at risk. Ugulava, who was the ex-Tbilisi mayor under the United National Movement leadership and now a current leader of the European Georgia opposition party, has been sentenced to three years and two months in prison.
The European Georgia opposition party leader David Bakradze has stated that opposition parties are suspending the dialogue with the ruling Georgia Dream party on 2020 election issue after the sentencing of European Georgia opposition party leader Gigi Ugulava to three years and two months in prison by the Georgian Supreme Court yesterday.
The third meeting between the ruling Georgian Dream party and opposition over the electoral changes has yielded no results. The opponents met in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi earlier today to discuss the possibility of moving to a multi-mandate system starting in 2020.
Opposition parties still say they will refuse to enter into a dialogue with the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party on how to hold the 2020 parliamentary elections which they suspended after the detention of opposition leader Gigi Ugulava earlier this month.
The Georgian opposition parties plan to nominate joint majoritarian candidates if the upcoming parliamentary elections later this year will be held per the existing electoral system, with 77 seats in the legislative body distributed via proportional voting and the remaining 73 via the majoritarian system.
The opposition leader Giorgi Vashadze says that the ruling Georgian Dream party has made a new offer - a 110/40 electoral model - for the parliamentary elections later this year, with 110 seats in the legislative body distributed via proportional voting and the remaining 40 via the majoritarian system.