Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said on March 24, that one-party system does not threaten the new Parliament of Georgia.
“We already have opposition in the new Parliament. One part of those MPs, who were elected in single-mandate constituencies on November 2 already are our opposition,” the President said at a news briefing on March 24.
The Supreme Court of Georgia annulled the results of the proportional vote of the November 2 parliamentary elections due to massive irregularities. Thus, the March 28 partial rerun of disputed November elections will be held by the party-lists only.
As a result 19 parties and coalition will contest for 150 seats in the legislative body, while 75 MPs elected in single-mandate constituencies on November 2 will retain their mandates in the 235-seat Parliament.
Observers fear that the political parties, except the ruling coalition, will be unable to clear 7% threshold, necessary to secure seats in the legislative body, due to low public confidence.
The Council of Europe (CoE) has already called on the authorities to reduce the threshold to 4-5%, which corresponds to the European averages. However, the appeal was rejected by President Saakashvili.