Georgia invites Azerbaijani observers for upcoming parliamentary elections

A delegation from several countries, including Azerbaijan, has been invited to monitor the parliamentary elections scheduled to take place in Georgia on October 26.

Formal invitation letter had been sent to the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan in this regard, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

In addition to members of Azerbaijan's Central Election Commission, Azerbaijani parliamentarians will also travel to Georgia as part of observer missions from various international organisations.

Notably, on 26 October, Georgia will conduct its tenth parliamentary elections since gaining independence from the Soviet Union. Following a protracted and turbulent effort to reform the electoral system, the regulations have once again changed.

For the first time in the country's history, all 150 seats in the unicameral legislature will be filled using a fully proportional system. This means that all seats will be allocated based on the overall percentage of votes received by a party in a single nationwide election.

Alongside a five per cent electoral threshold that parties must meet to secure seats, and a prohibition on political blocs, these alterations are set to impact the behaviour and activities of both voters and political parties.

It remains to be seen whether smaller opposition parties will be able to significantly enhance their representation in Parliament, or if the current ruling party, Georgian Dream (GD), will continue to dominate the institution.

By Aghakazim Guliyev