On June 21st, Georgia’s parliament voted to adopt proposed constitutional amendments that will reshape the way Georgians elect their parliamentarians. The bill required three readings and votes in Parliament. The vote at the first reading of the bill was passed with the support of 136 members out of 150. At the second reading, 115 of 150 parliamentarians voted for the amendments, three voted against, and one abstained. The third vote, on June 29th, passed with 117 voting for the amendments and 3 opposed.
This outcome is a direct consequence of the recent March 8 Agreement signed and agreed to by all of Georgia’s political parties via a Memorandum of Understanding and a Joint Statement, both brokered and strongly supported by representatives of the United States, the European Union, Germany, and the Council of Europe. Foreign ambassadors have continued to urge all Georgian political parties to abide by the Agreement and move expeditiously to enact constitutional amendments that codify electoral reform, as has Georgia’s president, Salome Zurabishvili.
The opposition factions United National Movement and European Georgia refused to participate in the votes despite pointed urging to do so by U.S. ambassador Kelly Degnan and other Western ambassadors and governments. These opposition parties claimed that included in the March 8th agreement was a provision to release “political prisoners,” including Mr. Giorgi Rurua. Georgian authorities have denied that any political prisoners exist in Georgia, noting that Mr. Rurua has a long and violent history as a common criminal who was earlier deported from the United States where he was living under an assumed name. Georgian courts have refused to release Mr. Rurua on bail. Germany’s ambassador to Georgia, Hubert Knirsch, who was among Western ambassadors party to brokering the March 8 Agreement, emphatically denied the opposition’s claims. “Mr. Rurua is not mentioned in the March 8 Agreement,” he told Georgia’s First Channel television, “it is clear and everybody can read it. I am surprised that he became the issue of discussion among the parties.”
Proportional representation, observed Georgia’s prime minister, “is the only way gradually to improve the country’s political culture, to bring about change, to make it more democratic and European….” Following the historic vote after the third reading, the Prime Minister noted its significance: “Today, Georgia has taken another important step to ensure the European and Euro-Atlantic future of our country. The new electoral system that was adopted demonstrates the Georgian Dream’s strong will to consistently implement the most important changes for the country, which no other political force has been able to achieve, and which serves to further consolidate European parliamentary democracy in Georgia…This decision is a guarantee of the further development of Georgia’s democracy and the irreversibility of its Euro-Atlantic course.”
Some background: Georgia’s unicameral parliament is comprised of 150 representatives. Heretofore 77 seats (mandates) have been elected proportionally from “lists.” An additional 73 seats come from districts where a single “majoritarian” member representing his or her constituency is elected. Georgians have known no other electoral system since regaining independence in 1991. Deficiencies in this electoral process have been revealed over time. For example, the best performing party in the proportional “lists” competition substantially enhanced its position by the advantage it gained in the single mandate districts, thereby favoring the party in power while marginalizing opposition parties. Not surprisingly, few incentives emerged for cross-party cooperation.
The new system of representation will change parliament’s composition for the 2020 election to 120 proportional and 30 majoritarian seats. Parties will be required only a 1% threshold to enter parliament. In addition, no party earning less than 40% of votes may claim a majority. This altered system will apply to the 2020 parliamentary election and to any election falling between it and the 2024 parliamentary election. In 2024, full proportional representation will become the norm, as is already a constitutional requirement.
As in many healthy democracies, Georgia’s electoral reform was born of proposals and protests. Full proportional representation was first proposed by the then newly elected Georgian Dream party in 2012, and its government unsuccessfully sought a constitutional change in 2017. Protests in the summer of 2019 brought the issue, once again, to center stage. The result was the March 8th Agreement.
Political parties opposing the ruling Georgian Dream party have engaged in a number of strategies to increase their opportunities at the ballot box, including combining forces. For example, a “united opposition” of 31 parties has agreed on candidates for majoritarian constituencies. New political platforms have emerged.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s leading health official announced that the current epidemiological situation in Georgia will allow elections to be held.