Ivanishvili gives in: The parliamentary elections in 2020 will be conducted under a proportional electoral system
The Georgian Dream ruling party announced that they are ready to conduct the 2020 parliamentary elections within a proportional electoral system. Head of the Georgian Dream ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili said that the 2020 parliamentary elections should take place under a proportional system with an electoral threshold of zero percent.
The new constitution of Georgia, which was adopted in 2017, and which came into effect after last year’s presidential elections, demands that Georgia moves to a fully proportional electoral system until 2024. As of now, Georgia has a mixed electoral system. 77 seats of its 150-member parliament are allocated proportionally along the party-lists or electoral blocs which had to meet a 5 percent threshold in the race
By agreeing to hold parliamentary elections under a proportional system, the Georgian government has fulfilled two of the protesters demands, namely the holding of elections and the resignation of the parliamentary speaker Irakli Kobakhidze. The remaining two demands are the resignation of the Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia, as well as the release of individuals detained during the June 20 rally in Tbilisi.