The Venice Commission has recommended the repeal of amendments to Georgia’s electoral code, adopted by the ruling Georgian Dream party parliament in December 2024, which increase the share of the majoritarian component in local elections.
In an opinion published on March 19, the Venice Commission warned that strengthening the majoritarian system “may result in the further entrenchment of the governing party’s position.” It also warned that while no specific European standards mandate a particular local electoral system, the changes “do not contribute to the promotion of political pluralism” and “may undermine the principle of equal suffrage.”
While urging the repeal of the amendments, the Venice Commission also recommended that the delimitation of electoral constituencies be strictly regulated at the level of the electoral code. It also urged that after the next local elections, an impartial authority should oversee the delimitation of electoral boundaries.
In addition, the Commission said that any further amendments to the Electoral Code should be made within the framework of a thorough review of the electoral system, ensuring a comprehensive reform, rather than through frequent and fragmented adjustments.
The opinion was requested by Marc Cools, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, after the GD’s one-party parliament rushed through the changes within a week.
The electoral changes had increased the proportion of deputies elected under the majoritarian system in municipal representative bodies (Sakrebulos). They also raised the mandatory threshold in the proportional component to 4% from the previous 3% in all other municipalities and 2.5% in Tbilisi.
The latest changes overturned those adopted earlier in 2021 as part of the EU-brokered agreement between Georgia’s political parties.
Georgian election monitor ISFED said in December that the aim of the changes was “to ensure the desired outcome for the ruling party before the local elections.”
Georgia’s local elections are scheduled for October 4, 2025. Some leaders of the four main opposition forces, which have boycotted parliamentary work after the October 2024 elections, which they consider fraudulent, have vowed that their parties will not participate in the local elections.
Following the October 26 parliamentary elections, which are widely believed to have been rigged, and especially since Georgian Dream’s announcement of a halt to EU accession, protests have continued across the country. The protesters have two main demands: the release of prisoners arrested during the protests and new – parliamentary – elections.
By civil.ge
0 Comment