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Seven Georgian Dream MPs Leave Parliamentary Majority, Positions

Tamar Chugoshvili. Photo: facebook.com/parliamentgeo

Seven Georgian Dream lawmakers have announced that they quit the parliamentary majority and their respective parliamentary positions, over the failure of the parliament of Georgia to pass the constitutional amendment envisaging transition to fully proportional electoral system from 2020.

The list of MPs that quit the parliamentary positions and majority includes:

Minutes after the vote, the First Deputy Speaker Chugoshvili told the media that she is aware of her responsibility over the failure to pass the amendment, as she was among those trying to convince international community and Georgian society that the country would switch to fully proportional electoral system.  “I have no other choice after today’s vote”, she added. 

“I have a great hope that the ruling party will manage the processes so that it would not grow in difficulties for the country, not [just for] the ruling party or any single party, but for the country,” Tamar Chugoshvili told journalists. 

Chugoshvili also underlined that she will not support any actions that might lead the country into the crisis. “I will not participate in anything that can contribute to turmoil in the country. If anyone has such plans, I do not consider myself with them,” she added.

Outgoing First Deputy Speaker also noted that the decision to quit the party was not planned well ahead, but rather was the “reaction on the voting results.” 

With 101 votes in favor and three against, the Georgian Parliament voted down the constitutional amendment envisaging transition to fully proportional electoral system from 2020 today.  Three fourths of sitting lawmakers’ support (113 of 150) were needed for the amendment to pass. While all of 44 MPs of opposition parties supported the bill, Georgian Dream’s three lawmakers voted against the amendment and 37 abstained. 

The ruling party backtracked on its key promise to Tbilisi Protests.  On June 24, Georgian Dream announced that parliamentary elections in 2020 would be held fully proportional with zero threshold. The announcement followed the protest rallies in Tbilisi, triggered by the Russian delegation’s presence at a session of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy in the parliament’s plenary chamber on June 20. Holding 2020 parliamentary elections through proportional party-lists was one of the main demands of protesters.

Tamar Chugoshvili, Sofio Katsarava and Tamar Khulordava were among Georgian Dream’s key interlocutors with the West.
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