Degnan on electoral bill: some don’t seem to understand democracy requires plurality of view

US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan has commented on the possible rejection of the electoral bill by the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party which offers a two percent election threshold for the next two parliamentary elections in Georgia. 

The bill was adopted on its first reading in September. However, the ruling party says that they may not support the bill on the following two readings as they withdrew from the April 2021 EU-mediated agreement in July  which obliged the GD to vote for the amendments. 

“Well, some don’t seem to understand that a democracy requires a plurality of views, one person, one party ruling, everything works against that. In fact, that risks the tyranny of the majority.  All of Georgia’s political leaders agreed that a lower threshold was a positive thing during the negotiations for electoral reform,” Degnan said earlier today. 

She stated that it was one of the positive outcomes of the October, 2020 parliamentary elections, that the lower threshold  allowed ‘nine very diverse parties’ to enter parliament.“

If the current 5% threshold is retained, it’s likely that two, maybe three political parties would make it across the threshold in the next elections.

That’s not the trajectory that would allow greater diversity, greater plurality in the parliament that would allow more Georgian views and perspectives  to be represented in parliament, which is what I think, what I know, all Georgia’s political leaders agreed was a positive thing,” she said. 

The GD head Irakli Kobakhidze stated earlier this week that they may accept the two percent election threshold if the opposition behaves well, but ‘it will be a gift to them.’