Ruling Party Hurries to Amend Election Code

At a special session of the Parliament on July 7, convened by President Saakashvili, legislators will discuss draft amendments to the election code and the law on local self-governance.

Amendments to these laws became necessary after the Parliament passed, with its final hearing on July 1, a new rule for electing the Tbilisi city Mayor and City Council (Sakrebulo).

The new rule, which has been harshly criticized by the opposition parties, envisages the election of the 25 members of the City Council through a first-past-the-post, ?winner takes all? system, while the remaining 12 seats will be distributed, through so called a ?compensatory list,? among those parties which garner at least 4% of votes in all ten constituencies of the capital city. The 37-member City Council will then elect the Tbilisi Mayor from among its members, with at least 2/3 of the votes, for a four-year term.

This new rule now needs to be reflected in the election code and law on local self-governance.

Initially, the Parliament planned to discuss these amendments during the autumn plenary session, but the ruling National Movement party insisted on passing the amendments now. Accordingly, President Saakashvili convened a special session of the Parliament, triggering protests from the opposition legislators.

?Yes, initially we agreed to postpone discussions and pass these amendments in autumn. But after it became clear that the opposition parties are not ready for a constructive cooperation, we thought there was no reason for postponement,? Vice-Speaker of the Parliament Mikheil Machavariani said.

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