President Zourabichvili vetoes bill abolishing women’s quotas for parliamentary elections

Georgia’s President, Salome Zourabichvili, on Thursday vetoed the proposed amendments to the Election Code aimed at abolishing mandatory women’s quotas for the upcoming 2024 parliamentary elections.

The current Election Code mandates that political parties participating in parliamentary elections must submit a candidate list where at least every fourth person is a woman. 

The proposal to abolish women’s quotas received support from 85 MPs during the April 4 parliamentary session, with 22 opposing it. 

 

Originating from the opposition party Girchi, the initiative was swiftly adopted within a week, facilitated by the ruling party Georgian Dream.

 

However, with the ruling party holding a majority in parliament, they have the necessary votes to override the presidential veto, as they have 83 MPs in the majority, surpassing the 76 required to overcome the veto.

The upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for October 26, 2024, will proceed under the proportional representation system, with mandates distributed among political parties crossing the 5 percent threshold.