PM: Proportional Representation is Only Way to Improve Political Culture

"Today, we have two new confirmed coronavirus cases, and yesterday we had eight. The source is relatively traceable, though mobility is very high, which is why we urge citizens and companies to be maximally responsible," Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia stated at today's meeting of the Interagency Coordination Council.

The head of the government noted that the country must keep positive outcomes in controlling the spread of the virus. We are entering a difficult period, because global statistics are growing, with the number of coronavirus-infected persons already exceeding 9,000,000.

"In reality, the spread of the virus is not decreasing. On the contrary, it is growing in our region, in our neighboring countries, and we must be doubly responsible, firstly to keep the positive outcomes in controlling the spread of the virus, which is the direct duty of the Government, citizens, and employers, companies, and we all must share this responsibility," he said.

The Prime Minister, in discussing constitutional amendments, pointed out that the fight against the epidemic, besides healthcare and economy, also acquired a political dimension. He stressed that the electoral system reform will be another positive step toward further bettering the country's democracy.

"Firstly, I congratulate our Members of Parliament on this success and result. Of course, we all expected this decision, and we have said repeatedly that proportional representation is the only way gradually to improve the country's political culture, to bring about change, to make it more democratic and European, so that it may guide to our ultimate goal of Euro-Atlantic integration," the Prime Minister emphasized.

He also underlined that the legislative amendments to the electoral system will be, in fact, followed by a political electoral process.

"And here the Government bears an enormous duty and responsibility, so that we may, as usual, hold transparent, fair, and maximally democratic elections as yet another trademark indicative of Georgia's further democratization," Gakharia stated.

He added that elections amid the pandemic pose a challenge offering the country an opportunity to accumulate positive experience.

"Elections and the pandemic are a different issue that will enable us to accumulate a positive experience. Elections amid the pandemic are also a global challenge, a new phenomenon in our lives, and we must learn a lot from it, systematize our knowledge, and hand it down to our country's institutions for their further empowerment. Mister Gamkrelidze, one may rest assured that, besides healthcare and economy, we now have an active social and political life, and that is also something to consider in epidemiological terms," the Prime Minister addressed Amiran Gamkrelidze, Director of the National Center for Disease Control.

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