An agreement on the electoral model between the government and the opposition has been reached. The dialogue facilitators congratulate the participants of the political dialogue on today’s successful agreement, which in diplomats words “represents a crucial step towards depolarization and normalization of the political environment in Georgia in the run-up to the parliamentary elections later this year.”

“Today’s agreement foresees an election system for 2020 based on 120 proportional mandates and 30 majoritarian mandates, a fair composition of election districts, a 1% threshold, and a cap recognizing that no single party that wins less than 40% of the votes should be able to get its own majority in the next parliament,” the diplomats stressed in their statement.

The dialogue facilitators noted that the agreement is accompanied by a joint statement among the sides outlining the agreement and recognizing the wider objective of holding free and fair elections, including the necessity of addressing actions that could be perceived as inappropriate politicization of Georgia’s judicial and electoral processes and of avoiding any such actions in the future.

“We recognize today’s agreement as a stepping-stone on Georgia’s democratic path.  We call on all sides to adhere to it and to safeguard its successful adoption in Parliament and subsequent implementation, for the benefit of the people and country of Georgia,” the statement said.