Statement of Election Observer Organizations on the Necessity of Electoral System Reform

The existing formation rule of majoritarian districts in electoral system, which was breaching the equality of votes, was deemed as non-constitutional by the Constitutional Court of Georgia on May 28 2015. The decision of the Constitutional Court made it obligatory to fix the flaw of the existing legislation. 

The electoral system is the cornerstone in the context of the reform. The current electoral system has been a subject to criticism for local/international observer organizations and political parties, because it could not provide important international standards: to reflect proportionality of votes in mandates; and the principle of equality of votes. 

The electoral system shall provide: fair, equal, secret, free and transparent elections; proportional reflection of voters’ will on the mandates; protection of principles of representativeness and equal power of votes.  Taking into account the reality of Georgia, it is necessary to encourage political pluralism and increase the representativeness of different groups (women, disabled persons, national minorities). 

We want to focus on the important fact that the electoral system is not a subject for discussion only for political parties. The society should clearly realize this discussion and participate in it, because the electoral system determines the configuration of political forces in future Parliament, the effectiveness of the Government and its capability. 

Because of the fact that a little time remains until the Parliamentary elections of 2016 and for planning-establishing main reforms, and because it is inevitably necessary to change the electoral system, we call for: 

Executive and Legislative Governments: in order to change the electoral system, based on the wide socio-political consensus, establish a working group for all interested parties, in the shortest time, to achieve the consensus for the improvement of the electoral system. 

The State Constitutional Commission: Immediately schedule a meeting to discuss the fundamental issue of the electoral system.

The Signatories are:

• Center of Development and Democracy (CDD)

• International Center for Civic Culture (ICCC)

• Public Advocacy

• Association of Georgian Regional Broadcasters

• Media Monitoring Centre of Georgia

• Human Rights Centre

• Article 42 of the Constitution

• Women’s Political Resource Centre

• Coalition for Independent Living