The Parliament of Georgia has adopted the constitutional amendments on the transition to a 120/30 electoral system for 2020 parliamentary polls with the first reading. 136 MPs supported the changes, five voted against. 142 MPs registered to vote, Trend reports citing Georgian First Channel.
Independent MPs and opposition factions, except for the United National Movement, took part in today’s vote.
Constitutional changes envisage holding the 2020 parliamentary elections under 120/30 model (120 proportional mandates and 30 majoritarian mandates) in Georgia.
The amendments stipulate that proportional elections will be held with 1% threshold, and the threshold for electoral blocs will be determined by multiplying one percent by the number of parties within the bloc.
At the same time, based on changes it is impossible for a party or electoral bloc, which wins less than 40 percent of the votes to form a parliamentary majority and form a government single-handedly.
At the same time, the bill directly defines the boundaries of 30 single-member majoritarian constituencies, taking into account the current administrative boundaries. In addition, the draft will allow the party to participate in the 2020 elections, if it submits signatures of supporters in the amount of at least 5,000 voters.
The bill also stipulates that in case of early elections in the period up to 2024, the country will operate under the provisional electoral system established by the proposed constitutional bill.