NGOs are urging the authorities to wait for the opinion of the Venice Commission
On September 1, Venice Commission President Gianni Buquicchio expressed his disappointment with the decision to postpone introduction of the fully proportional electoral system for 2024. He also criticized the fact that political parties failed to reach a consensus about the Constitution. Furthermore, on September 4, Secretary of the Venice Commission Thomas Markert advised the ruling party to wait for the final opinion of the Venice Commission before adopting the Constitution. The final report will be published in October.
Nevertheless, on September 5, Chair of Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze announced that the existing draft of the Constitution would be adopted during a fall session of parliament with third reading, which means that it will undergo only minor technical changes. On September 4, similar statement was made by Chair of the parliamentary committee on procedural rules and regulations, Giorgi Kakhiani.
These statements made by representatives of the ruling party contradict the pledge made by the Georgian Dream leaders that they would take into account all comments of the Venice Commission.
We urge the parliamentary majority to take into account comments of the Venice Commission and wait for its final opinion, or the international reputation of Georgia may suffer greatly. The government will certainly be criticized for failing to live up to its promise and misleading partners. Furthermore, we would like to reiterate that keeping the existing electoral system for the next elections does not serve the purpose of promoting democratic development of the state and creating a healthy political environment, which are necessary preconditions for a multi-party parliament with a high decree of legitimization. Lack of minimum political compromise and the fact that such an important decision is made by a single political party puts prospects of Georgia’s stable development at risk. Constitution is a document of public consent and its contents must be supported by general public.
Transparency International Georgia
International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy
Open Society – Georgia Foundation
Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association
Civil Development Agency
Institute for Development of Freedom of Information
Georgian Reforms Association (GRASS)
Regional Center for Strategic Research
Economic Policy Research Center
Georgian Democratic Initiative
Liberal Academy - Tbilisi