For Georgia proposes constitutional shift to direct presidential elections


Author
Front News Georgia
The For Georgia opposition party, founded by former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, on Monday proposed amendments to the constitution over the procedure for electing the country’s next president.
Incumbent Salome Zourabichvili’s term as the fifth president of Georgia officially concludes this year and she will be the last president to be directly elected by citizens, as her successor will be chosen by a 300-member electoral college approved by the Central Election Commission, in accordance with the 2017 amendments to domestic laws.
In his comments, Beka Liluashvili, the party member, made a mention of the recent political appearance of Bidzina Ivanishvili – the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream labeled as a “shadow ruler” by the domestic opposition – who he said had acknowledged imbalance within the government amid the “destruction of opposition”.
However, rather than constitutionally addressing this issue, he put forward himself as the solution to balancing the government, Liluashvili highlighted.
He stressed in democratic systems, such an approach was not only deemed unacceptable but also practically impossible. ”It goes against the principles of governance for one individual to act as both the guarantor of the state’s stability and the balancer of the government”, Liluashvili said.
Recognizing the importance of “independent and highly legitimate” institutions in governance, the For Georgia party advocated for a shift to ensure a balance between the branches of government and proposed a modification to the constitution to enable the direct election of the future president of Georgia by its citizens.
“This proposed change aims to enhance the legitimacy and independence of the incoming president, particularly given the heightened polarization in domestic politics and the security challenges in the [South Caucasus] region”, the lawmaker said. The party also pointed to the experiences of the past several years, where it claimed a directly elected president, regardless of past or present support, had proven “more effective” in the role of a balancer.
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