Mtatsminda By-Elections Slated for May 19

MP by-elections in Mtatsminda single-mandate constituency in Tbilisi will be held on Sunday, May 19, 2019, the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced today.

According to the election administration, 31 polling stations will be opened for the by-elections, serving a total of 43,868 registered voters.

The seat became vacant after Salome Zurabishvili, a majoritarian lawmaker, was elected as the President of Georgia.

In Georgia’s mixed electoral system 77 seats in 150-member parliament are allocated proportionally under the party-list contest among the parties and electoral blocs, which clear a 5% threshold in nationwide popular vote.

Rest of the 73 MPs are elected in 73 single-member districts, known as “majoritarian” mandates; a majoritarian MP candidate has to win over 50% of votes in order to gain an outright victory in the first round, otherwise a second round will be convened.

The latest Parliamentary election was held on October 8, 2016. The 2020 polls will be conducted under the mixed proportional-majoritarian system. The country will move to a fully proportional representation from 2024.

The CEC Spokesperson Ana Mikeladze told Civil.ge that five mayoral by-elections – in Marneuli, Zestaponi, Chiatura, Zugdidi and Khulo – will be also held on May 19. Municipal council (Sakrebulo) by-elections are to be held in eight municipalities as well.

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