Georgian NGOs criticize draft amendments to the Constitution

The president of Georgia should be elected by direct vote, three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of the country insist. They have criticized the draft that envisions election of the president by the MPs.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 16 the constitutionalist Vakhtang Khmaladze, a former member of the Republican Party of Georgia, presented a draft, according to which the president will be elected by 150 MPs and 150 delegates from local self-governments.

According to the NGOs "International Society and Democracy", "Association of Young Lawyers" and "International Transparency – Georgia", the drafts considered by the Constitutional Commission "fail to promote the democratic progress of the country."

The NGOs suggest preserving the election of the president of Georgia by direct voting "at least at the next presidential election of 2018."

They are sure that a switchover to the proportional election system "fails to ensure the equal and proportional distribution of mandates to the number of votes cast at elections." In particular, according to the draft, the non-distributed mandates should go to the party that won the first place at elections.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.