Opposition still refuses to participate in dialogue on election issue, ruling party says time is expiring
Opposition leader Zaal Udumashvili said today that opposition parties have not changed their mind on the dialogue regarding 2020 elections.Photo: IPN.
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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.
Renewal of the dialogue has no meaning as opposition leaders are politically persecuted,” member of the United National Movement opposition party Zaal Udumashvili said earlier today.
Ruling party MP Mamuka Mdinaradze responded that the door for carrying out changes regarding the 2020 elections is closing at the end of February and urged the opposition to return to the table of negotiations.
If the ruling party and the opposition fail to agree on the electoral system for 2020 elections, the race will be held per the current model - with 77 MPs elected based on party lists and remaining 73 - in the majoritarian race.
Ruling party urges opposition to continue the dialogue.
- The issue of 2020 elections was raised after parliament rejected the ruling party proposed election bill in November 2019, which allowed an early transition to a fully proportional electoral system starting from 2020, instead of scheduled 2024.
- 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.
- 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.
- After detention of Ugulava for embezzlement of 48 million GEL state funds, the opposition suspended the negotiations on election issues.
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 run,’ stating that the ruling party will not achieve its goal “to split the opposition’s unity’ around the election topic.
The European Union says that it is currently scrutinising closely the recent ruling by the Georgian Supreme Court in the case against opposition leader Gigi Ugulava, who was convicted for embezzling 48 million GEL while serving as Tbilisi mayor under the United National Movement government. The EU says that they will ‘continue to monitor’ all other trials in Georgia related to high profile cases.
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 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 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.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) Secretary General and Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze says that GD has made two offers to the opposition on how to hold the 2020 parliamentary elections. Kaladze says that the offers pertain to the distribution of seats in the 150-member parliament. He stated that there is disagreement within the opposition which makes it difficult to reach an agreement.