WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th June, 2020) The United States welcomes the adoption of constitutional amendments by Georgia with which a more proportional system has been established in the country, US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement on Monday.
"The United States applauds Georgia's historic adoption of constitutional amendments that establish a more proportional electoral system," the statement said. "Enacted as a result of the important March 8 agreement among a majority of political parties, they will help promote greater stability and parliamentary pluralism in Georgia's October parliamentary elections."
Earlier on Monday, the Georgian parliament approved constitutional amendments for the country to switch to a proportional electoral system as was demanded by the country's opposition.
Ortagus said the United States is now urging Georgia's parliament to pass election reform legislation that fully incorporates OSCE recommendations and Georgia's authorities to effectively implement such legislation.
"A key test for Georgia's democratic evolution will be the holding of a free, fair and transparent electoral process that represents the choice of the Georgian people. The fairness of the pre-election and post-election periods is equally as important as the conduct of Election Day," the statement said.
During the previous parliamentary elections in Georgia, 73 lawmakers were elected via a majority voting system and 77 via proportional representation. The constitutional amendments envision the country's voters to elect 120 lawmakers via a proportional representation and the remaining 30 via a majority system.
The United National Movement and the European Georgia opposition parties did not take part in the vote due to the government's refusal to free Giorgi Rurua, an opposition politician and the co-founder of tv channel Mtavari Arkhi, who was charged last year with possessing weapons illegally.
The opposition joined efforts to persuade Georgians to switch from a mixed to a proportional system ahead of the October 2020 elections. Following long negotiations - and mass protests - the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition agreed in March on the transition to the new electoral system.
As part of the deal, the government released former Tbilisi mayor Giorgi Ugulava and former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili. The opposition characterized the two and Rurua as being political prisoners.
