About 45 civil society members, mainly figures known to the public, have addressed Georgian voters ahead of the second round of majoritarian elections on October 30 and encouraged them to vote for opposition candidates.
They stressed that supporting opposition candidates would disrupt the creation of a “one party” ruling system in the country, which would be “inevitable” if the current ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia (GDDG) party gains at least 100 seats out of the 150-member legislative body.
The civil sector representatives stated that at least 100 MPs in Parliament belonging to one party meant a constitutional majority, and a party which had a constitutional majority could unanimously bring changes to the country’s fundamental laws in the Constitution.
After the first round of elections held on October 8 the GDDG obtained 67 seats.
The second round of elections would be held in 50 majoritarian constituencies, where none of the candidates managed to overcome the 50%threshold.
Out of the 50 constituencies the GDDG candidates take part in 49, the opposition United National Movement in 45.
The GDDG and UNM candidates will oppose one another in 44 constituencies, as their candidates showed the best results in the first round of voting.
“After the first round of the elections, it has been revealed that one party has the possibility to obtain a constitutional majority in parliament, which could damage the democratic process,” the appeal read.
“We believe that the Euro-Atlantic path and the values of a liberal democracy are important for you [voters]. In order to avoid unbalanced, single-party rule, encourage your supporters to vote for opposition candidates in the second round of the parliamentary elections,” the address added.
Georgia has a mixed electoral system, wherein 77 lawmakers are elected through proportional, party list voting, while the remaining 73 via a majoritarian election.
