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Source: ESPN
Georgia goes to the polls in test of ruling party’s dominance
People queue outside a polling station during Georgia's parliamentary election in Tbilisi.
Al Jazeera News :
Georgians have started voting in a tightly contested parliamentary election that is pitting an unlikely union of opposition forces against the increasingly unpopular ruling party led by the country’s richest man.
More than 3.5 million Georgian citizens are eligible for Saturday’s polls that close at 8pm (16:00 GMT).
The South Caucasian nation will elect 120 deputies in the 150-member parliament through proportional party lists – a significant jump from 77 such seats allocated by its earlier system.
The remaining 30 MPs – instead of 73 – will be picked as majoritarians from single-mandate constituencies.
The new rules also lowered the 5 percent threshold to 1 percent, meaning any party that secures one percent of votes will enter the legislature.
The constitutional amendment approved in June also requires 40.6 percent of votes for the formation of a one-party government.
People queue outside a polling station during Georgia’s parliamentary election in Tbilisi [Vano Shlamov/AFP]
The opposition hopes the significantly modified electoral system will prevent the Georgian Dream party from securing a majority in the parliament for a third straight term.
In an attempt to end Georgian Dream’s dominance, opposition parties signed an agreement to exclude it from forming a coalition government, state media reported on Friday.
Georgian Dream, founded by former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, courted controversy with its policy of pursuing a pragmatic approach to neighbouring Russia, including attempting to restore traditional trade ties.
Georgians have started voting in a tightly contested parliamentary election that is pitting an unlikely union of opposition forces against the increasingly unpopular ruling party led by the country’s richest man.
More than 3.5 million Georgian citizens are eligible for Saturday’s polls that close at 8pm (16:00 GMT).
The South Caucasian nation will elect 120 deputies in the 150-member parliament through proportional party lists – a significant jump from 77 such seats allocated by its earlier system.
The remaining 30 MPs – instead of 73 – will be picked as majoritarians from single-mandate constituencies.
The new rules also lowered the 5 percent threshold to 1 percent, meaning any party that secures one percent of votes will enter the legislature.
The constitutional amendment approved in June also requires 40.6 percent of votes for the formation of a one-party government.
People queue outside a polling station during Georgia’s parliamentary election in Tbilisi [Vano Shlamov/AFP]
The opposition hopes the significantly modified electoral system will prevent the Georgian Dream party from securing a majority in the parliament for a third straight term.
In an attempt to end Georgian Dream’s dominance, opposition parties signed an agreement to exclude it from forming a coalition government, state media reported on Friday.
Georgian Dream, founded by former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, courted controversy with its policy of pursuing a pragmatic approach to neighbouring Russia, including attempting to restore traditional trade ties.
