Finance Minister: If Society Wants Proportional Elections, they will Show it in 2020

“If the demand for proportional elections was the demand of a large part of society, then this society will come to the ballot box and show it in 2020,” said the Finance Minister of Georgia Ivane Matchavariani.

He also responded to a question about whether the government feels responsible for the ongoing processes.

“Of course, the government feels responsible for it. Some lawmakers even left the parliamentary majority in protest. The rest of the team is also concerned,“ the Minister said.

“It is a lie that for the future of the country, a proportional system with zero barrier is better. It was a step towards political compromise and not a better model of governance. That was a promise, however, it does not mean that the current model is illegal, unconstitutional or unfit.

"You might have already watched yesterday's interview with Bidzina Ivanishvili, where he emphasizes that if the demand for proportional elections was the demand of a large part of the public and if they think this is the right model, then they will come to the ballot box and show it. And if it is only vital for the small group holding rallies in the street, then it will remain vital only for them,” Machavariani said.

The Minister also noted that any kind of protest, if it is time-consuming or large-scale, has a negative effect on economic processes.

By Ana Dumbadze