Tbilisi: The parliament of the Republic of Georgia has overruled the president’s veto. Using her extraordinary powers, the President vetoed the amendment law on April 18. The amendment aimed at abolishing the gender-based quota for women MPs (members of parliament).
The Georgian parliament’s decision came on May 15. It should be added that last month on April 4, the Parliament of Georgia abolished the mandatory gender quotas. The quota was abolished after an agreement was executed between the ruling Georgian Dream and the parliamentary opposition Girchi party.
After the amendment, the bill was sent to the president for her approval to implement it into the law. Still, she used her veto power to make the amendment ineffective. As per the terms and conditions of the agreement, the ruling party, the Georgian Dream, backed Girchi’s (the main opposition party of Georgia) proposal to abolish quotas. In exchange for the opposition party, Girchi promised to vote in favour of the Georgian Dream candidate for the position of Central Electoral Commission (CEC) Chairperson.
Eighty-five members of the parliament voted in favor of abolishing the gender-based quota whereas twenty-two casted their votes against the proposed amendments. On the other hand, before this decision, the Electoral Code of Georgia required that at least one out of every four people on a party list be a woman, which many leaders opposed.
At the same time, some people criticize the parliament’s move, as this was aimed at targeting the gender equality provided by the law of Georgia. As the Parliament of Georgia has overridden the president’s veto, it has become clear that the present will be bound to approve the amendment if it is again sent to the Parliament.
It is to be added that many people are still supporting the President and said that she made the right decision. According to them, this quota was provided for the upliftment of women.
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