24 June 2019, 21:31
"Georgian Dream" states fulfilment of protesters' second demand
Bidzina Ivanishvili, the leader of the ruling "Georgian Dream-Democratic Movement" Party, has announced the initiative to switchover to the proportional system of parliamentary elections in 2020.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in Georgia, protest actions are being held daily starting from June 20, after some MPs expressed their dissatisfaction with the fact that at a meeting of the parliamentary assembly held in the Georgian parliament building, Sergey Gavrilov, a Russian State Duma member, sat in the chair of the Speaker of the Georgian parliament.
The protesters have already succeeded in achieving the resignation of Georgian Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze. In the evening on June 22, protesters voiced three more demands to the authorities: the release of the detainees, the resignation of Interior Minister Giorgi Gakhariya, and the holding of parliamentary elections under a proportional system.
The next parliamentary elections in Georgia will be held under the proportional electoral system and with no electoral barrier, Mr Ivanishvili said today after a majority meeting in the central office of the party.
Mamuka Bakhtadze, the Georgian Premier, has supported the ruling party's initiative. "Bidzina Ivanishvili, the chairman of the party, has voiced out an unprecedented decision. We had discussions on this issue; and the team fully supports this decision," Mr Bakhtadze said on air of the "Rustavi-2" TV Company, as translated by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
The TV Company has added that the journalists' question on whether Giorgi Gakhariya, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), would resign remained unanswered at the briefing of the ruling party of Georgia.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 24, 2019 at 03:02 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Inna Kukudzhanova, Galina Gotua Source: CK correspondents
