Address of CSOs and Political Parties to the Parliament of Georgia on the Elections System Reform
On May 30, eight civil society organizations and 14 political parties signed an agreement about the elections system reform during a press conference held at the initiative of the President. The agreement envisages abolishment of majoritarian election system and conduct of elections with proportionate voting system only to guarantee fair elections in Georgia.
CSOs and political parties address the Parliament of Georgia with the following petition:
“In order to ensure democratic, competitive and level playing field for elections in Georgia, the existing election system must be immediately modified. In the election system that currently exists in the country votes are not proportionately translated into seats, number of wasted votes is high, and equality of suffrage not observed.
International organizations have issued a number of recommendations addressing these problems.
In light of the foregoing, members of the Parliament must initiate Constitutional amendments reformulating para.1 of Article 49 of the Constitution of Georgia as follows:
“Until conditions envisaged by Article 4 of the Constitution of Georgia are created, the Parliament shall consist of 75 MPs elected with proportional representation system and 75 MPs elected with regional-proportional representation system in a nationwide, equal and direct voting with a secret ballot, and for the term of four years.”
We highlight once more the importance of initiating the Constitutional amendment immediately, in order to allow reformulation of the Constitutional provision concerned in time for the upcoming 2016 parliamentary elections.
We remain hopeful that with your support and our shared efforts, the consensus reflected in the present address, which has brought together civil society and political groups holding different views, will be mirrored in legislative amendments crucial for democratic development of the country.”