Parliament Speaker: Elections Will be held with 3% Barrier, Blocs and Mixed System

"The parliamentary elections will be held with a 3% barrier, blocs and a mixed system," Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze said after the plenary session, adding that the Parliament did not support a transition to a proportional system for the 2020 parliamentary elections.

"The votes today were not enough. Accordingly, this decision was not approved by Parliament, which means that the parliamentary elections will be held with a 3% barrier, blocs and a mixed system. The vote results are available to the public,” he noted. 

Today, the Parliament of Georgia rejected the bill on constitutional amendments relating to the electoral system in the first reading.

141 MPs registered for the plenary session. 101 MPs, including opposition lawmakers, supported the bill on the transition to the proportional electoral system. Three MPs voted against the bill, though the required quorum was 113 votes, thus the MPs failed to approve the bill in the first reading.

The bill, drafted by 93 lawmakers, envisages holding the parliamentary elections in 2020 through a proportional system with a zero barrier and the admission of electoral alliances.

By Ana Dumbadze 

Related Story: Parliament Rejects Bill on Electoral Amendments