Georgian Parliament Approves Constitutional Amendments for Electoral System in First Reading

The Georgian Parliament has approved in the first reading a constitutional amendment regarding changes to the electoral system in anticipation of the upcoming elections in 2020.

According to News-Georgia, today’s session was boycotted by the United National Movement party, which is represented by a group of six members in the legislative body. A total of 142 deputies registered for the vote. Of those, 136 voted in favor of the bill, while 5 voted against.

According to the proposed amendments, 120 deputies will be elected through a proportional system, and 30 deputies will be elected through a majoritarian system in the 2020 parliamentary elections.

The changes also include reducing the electoral threshold for parties from 5 percent to 1 percent, while the threshold for alliances will be determined by the number of parties included in the coalition.

Furthermore, the amendments stipulate that a party can form a unilateral government if it gathers 40 percent of the votes from the electorate.

This electoral format is part of an agreement between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition signed on March 8. The parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on October 31.