Dialogue on constitutional amendments depends on ruling party

The opposition has already submitted their demands

Georgian opposition and ruling parties still tend to search for a consensus regarding the amendments in the Constitution of Georgia. After the first meeting of Georgian political parties on August 18, representatives of the parliamentarian majority asked opposition parties to write down and send their list of main priorities to the ruling party regarding the amendments in the country’s key document.

The opposition parties have divided into two parts. Both of the groups contain 11 parties, but still they have two common demands: the first is to hold the proportional elections in 2020 and the second is to elect the president of the country by direct elections.

The acceptance of these requirements is the basis to continue the dialogue between the two political sides.

Despite the attempts, some still indicate at lack of trust between the majority and opposition as the main drawback for cooperation.

However, the president of the country, Giorgi Margvelashvili, is positive about the attempts to reach a consensus; though he admits this will be possible if the ruling party changes its attitude towards the actors involved in the process. At a briefing on August 22, Margvelashvili expressed his hopes to adopt the draft based on the consensus achieved among the political parties.

To support the consultations is the key mission of the meeting organized by the Venice Commission in Strasbourg in September.

Since the opposition has defined their demands, now it is up to the Georgian Dream to provide a proper response. To see a complete picture and dwell upon further analysis of the issue, we need to observe what will be the proposal of the ruling party.