Georgian President Signs New Edition of Constitution
Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili signed amendments made to the constitution, despite the fact that he disagreed with some of its parts.
He underlined that he made the decision because he is the head of the state, guarantor of the constitution and a High Commander.
“It is very hard for me to sign the constitution but I am still signing the document in order to avoid possible destabilization,” the president stressed.
He added that the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) adopted “one-party” constitution.
“I would like this step to be perceived as an example of a politician not applying all levers due to state ideals and interests. I would like to call on the public to be more active in terms of establishment of effective democracy,” said Margvelashvili.
“I believe that together with our society we will create far more efficient democracy and finally get constitutions based on agreement,” he added.
Margvelashvili vetoed the constitutional amendments on October 9, but Parliamentary majority overrode the veto on October 13.
When vetoing the bill, the President added six remarks to the bill and returned it back to the parliament. Margvelashvili stated that the four remarks directly reflect the commitments taken by the ruling team before the Venice Commission. They are: abolition of bonus system, allowing creation of election blocs, constitutional court issue and the freedom of confession.
As for the other two recommendations, one of them envisages introduction of fully proportional elections system since 2020, instead of 2024, offered by the GD. The sixth issue applies to the rule of president’s election by people.
The ruling party was ready to accept only two remarks: abolition of bonus system, which means sharing votes received by parties failing in elections between parliamentary parties, and the possibility of creation of election blocks for the 2020 parliamentary elections.
The GD majority has many times overridden presidential veto, because it has 116 MPs in a 150-seat parliament. At least 76 MPs’ support is necessary in order to override the Presidential veto.
By Thea Morrison
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