Several NGOs say the "German model" electoral system does not contradict the Georgian constitution.

The NGOs have today released a joint statement, saying that after the ruling Georgian Dream party’s failure to pass promised constitutional amendment that would switch Georgia to fully proportional electoral system from 2020, the participants of the rallies launched in Georgia are demanding modification of the current mixed voting system into the "German model".

The NGOs say that in response to the mentioned initiative, the representative of the Georgian ruling party insist that this model contradicts the Georgian Constitution.

"We would like to emphasize that the modified version of the "German model" does not contradict the Constitution of Georgia for the following reasons:

According to the current version of the constitution, 77 MPs will be elected through proportional and 73 MPs through majoritarian election system in the next parliamentary elections.

The constitution defines only the number of the proportional and majoritarian mandates. The rule for distribution of seats in both components is defined by the Election Code of Georgia, which provides distribution of seats in the proportional component independently of the majoritarian one. This circumstance allows the modified option of the “German model” of mixed electoral system to be launched for the next parliamentary elections of Georgia through making the amendments to the Election Code so as not to alter the proportionality of proportional and majoritarian seats in the Parliament, determined by the Constitutional of Georgia.

The German model of a mixed electoral system is a type of mixed-member proportional electoral system. It gives voters the opportunity to choose both the majoritarian MP and the party list. And in parliament, the distribution of seats between parties / election blocs is based on the votes received through the proportional system,” the statement reads.

The NGOs claim that replacement of the current electoral system with the modified version of the “German model” will significantly improve the electoral environment and allow fairer distribution of parliamentary mandates as a result of the 2020 elections, ”the statement said.

The statement is signed by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED); Transparency International Georgia (TI); Georgian Young Lawyer's Association (GYLA); "Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC)".