Single-Mandate - Majority System will be in force at least until 2020

The inter-party group and NGOs requested abolishment of single-mandate/majority system in the parliamentary elections, but their request was not satisfied. The ex-prime-minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili, also supported the idea to abolish the majority system. He called the existing system “Feudal System”.

Later, the former prime-minister further clarified his statement. “The problem is so huge, that I several times raised the issue and requested to eliminate the majority system at all. I am not the expert of the field, therefore, I am cautious. Maybe, I used a harsh word, when I called the system “feudal”, but when they [single mandate MPs] think that they  become rullers of the region, it is not true”, - Bidzina Ivanishvili told the journalists of public broadcaster in 2013. 

International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy was among the NGOs, which requested the abolishment of majority system even before the 2016 Parliamentary Elections. The executive director of the ISFED Mikheil Benidze said the election system’s improvement will dramatically improve the election environment in the country. As known, so called proportional and majority systems function in Georgia. “For years we witness that the ruling party or the parties which have more financing have unfair advantages under the majority system. In fact, money and administrative resources are the main assets to win majority system elections. Consequently, the ruling party beside the votes from proportional elections gains single mandates too”, - Mikheil Benidze clarified to humanrights.ge. 

The political party New Rights with other opposition political parties  requested the abolishment of single mandate/majority system. The leader of the New Rights, Mamuka Katsitadze, declares that the majority system itself is not undemocratic. It is applied in several countries accross the world. However, we should take the state administration and the structure of supreme legislative body into account. 

“The  elections are held with single-mandate system in the countries, where there is two-chamber parliament– one chamber is completed with single mandates and the other with proportional system. At the same time, there are a few important issues, which require consent from both chambers with high quorum. Despite rare exceptions, the united single-mandate and proportional systems do not exist in the countries with one-chamber parliaments. We will get in Georgian reality that, for example, one political party gets more than 50% of votes, which means that it will win  73 single mandate districts. Out of 77% it gains almost  half seats, and finally will gain more than 100 seats (maybe even constitutional majority) in the Parliament. Consequently, votes and interests of other parties are ignored for 4 years and we get the situation when one political force rules the country, which does not belong to them!”, - the leader of News declared in the conversation with humanrights.ge. 

On May 28, 2015, the first collegium of the Georgian Constitutional Court satisfied the constitutional suit of the citizens of Georgia Ucha Nanuashvili and Mikheil Sharashidze against the Parliament of Georgia – and declared the norms of the Election Code of Georgia anti-constitutional which regulated design of 73 single mandate election districts. The disputed articles said that each municipality, besides Tbilisi, for the parliamentary elections presented one single mandate district and in Tbilisi 10 single mandate districts were created. The suitors claimed that the votes of electorates did not have equal force in the parliamentary elections. 

One of the suitors constitutionalist Mikheil Sharashidze explains, that according to the former rule of the Election Code, one single mandate election districts automatically were linked to the territory of former municipalities. It caused quite big disproportion in terms of voters’   quantity. “The main problem litigated in the plea is now solved, because more or less these districts are equal now”, - the constitutionalist told humarights.ge. 

Mamuka Katsitadze positively evaluates the new system of election districts division, but negatively sees the real picture. He says that single mandate districts are not equal. Because  5 000 voters in Kazbegi vs 160 000 voters in Kutaisi elect only one MP. 

The executive director of the Civil Integration Foundation, Zaur Khalilovi, is against the new system of election districts division: “The most mysterious question in the whole election process for me is why village Karajala was linked to Akhmeti Municipality Election District and Ninotsminda-Akhalkalaki were united as one election district and they will have one MP. Each region and district has its own peculiarity and if you do not know know it, it shall be difficult to make decisions”. 

The question of abolishment of the single mandate/majority system is postponed until 2020 elections.