Attempt to reform the electoral system has failed yet again
Media has reported that the draft law on modified German model of the electoral system has been removed from the parliamentary hearing agenda after it was withdrawn by its initiator - the Republican Party. According to a member of the party, Levan Berdzenishvili the bill was withdrawn because it did not receive enough votes.
We believe that this draft represents a meaningful opportunity to improve the electoral system. During preliminary consultations, parliamentary opposition parties agreed and expressed their readiness to support the German model. However, on June 1, the bill did not receive enough votes during the first hearing at the Legal Affairs Committee, as a result of the fact that five members of the minority (the United National Movement – UNM) were absent from the meeting as they had boycotted the parliament and did not participate in voting. NGOs have urged MPs to take discussions about the initiative more seriously and support the bill.
Instead of fully mobilizing to support the electoral system reform, the parties are no longer considering the draft law. The opportunity to debate the proposal during plenary session of the parliament would have allowed all political parties to publicly express their position about proposed amendments. In addition, debates, decision-making processes and the arguments about the bill would have been transparent and available to public. Debating the bill at the plenary session would have provided an additional opportunity for the draft law to garner enough votes. Instead, it was removed from the parliamentary agenda, making it almost impossible to make any changes in the current electoral system.
Regrettably the political parties have shown inconsistency and irresponsibility towards reforming the electoral system. They have missed an opportunity to make any substantial improvements in the environment for the upcoming Parliamentary elections.