Georgia To Elect Parliament Via Proportional System For First Time On Saturday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st October, 2020) Georgia is set to hold parliamentary elections on Saturday to elect 150 lawmakers via a proportional system for the first time in the country's history.

In June, the Georgian parliament approved the transition from a mixed voting system to a proportional system, as demanded by the opposition. During the previous parliamentary elections, 73 lawmakers were elected via a majority voting system and 77 via proportional representation. The amendments envision electing 120 lawmakers out of 150 via a proportional representation and the remaining 30 via a majority system.

The main rivalry is between the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, headed by Bidzina Ivanishvili, and the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party, which is linked to former President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Most opinion polls have predicted GD's victory, with its support ranging from 25-60 percent. According to one of the latest opinion polls, commissioned by the Imedi tv channel in mid-October, 56 percent of voters said that they would vote for the ruling party, and less than 20 percent of those surveyed said that they would vote for the UNM.

The electoral campaign has been highlighted by a number of clashes and fistfights between GD and UNM supporters. The ruling party also accused UNM of preparing provocations on election day.