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opposition’s concerns about the low threshold that might allow small parties easily controlled by those in power to gain access. Fringe radical parties might also enter the parliament as well, they argue.
A proportional system with zero threshold “is much better than we have today,” said Eka Gigauri, executive director of Transparency International - Georgia, who attended the ruling party’s presentation of the changes, quoted by ipn.ge. “I think that moving to the proportional system is a great achievement for which we must thank the students who hold protest rallies. Proportional system with zero threshold is much better than we have today. Naturally, the Commission speaks about the international experience, which means 3% threshold,” Gigauri added.
The parliamentary opposition did not attend the presentation, but expressed readiness to support legislative amendments needed to enact the proportional election system.
2.4 Presidential election runner-up reportedly called for questioning over riots in Georgia
Former foreign minister and presidential election runner-up Grigol Vashadze has reportedly been summoned by the police for questioning in connection with the mass protests outside the Georgian parliament on June 20-21.
The mass protests were sparked by reports that a visiting Russian MP was due to address Parliament from the speaker’s chair. The protests culminated in an attempt to storm the parliament building. 240 people were hurt as police beat back protesters using gas, water cannon and rubber bullets.
Vashadze refused to testify at a police station, and will instead be interviewed before a judge, a spokesperson for the Georgian interior ministry told Tass. Other senior Georgian opposition politicians have given testimony under similar circumstances, including former Tbilisi mayor Gigi Ugulava and former defence minister Giorgi Baramidze, as well as members of the National Democratic Party, Victorious Georgia Party and Law and Justice Party, the newswire said.
Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office said on July 4 that material evidence and testimonies of “tens of witnesses” proved that a group of individuals had plotted “a violent overthrow of the government followed by seizure of po wer” during the rally outside the parliament building on June 20-21, Civil.ge reported . The first four people charged with group violence during these developments have already been indicted.
2.5 Russia, Georgia meet for first time since anti-Russian protests in Tbilisi
Representatives of Russia and Georgia on July 16 met for the first time since mass anti-Russian protests broke out in the Georgian capital Tbilisi last month, leading to an attempt to storm the parliament in which 240 people were hurt as police beat back protesters.
10 GEORGIA Country Report August 2019 www.intellinews.com