06:00, 25 September 2010

Parliament of Georgia adopts amendments to the Constitution in first reading

With a 123-4 vote, the parliament of Georgia has approved in the first reading the draft of the Constitutional Law "On Amending and Adding the Constitution of Georgia" at its extraordinary session.

The draft was presented to the parliamentarians by Zurab Adeishvili, Minister of Justice. He explained that the new Constitution will be nicely balanced and assumes a strong parliament, preservation of a powerful president's institution and stronger judiciary. According to his story, the parliament will possess the right to form and dissolve the government.

The draft also assumes election of the president of the country by direct vote. The president will be the head of the state and the commander-in-chief of the staff of united forces; also the president will head the Security Council and act as arbitrator during political crises. However, he or she will have no legislative initiative.

According to the minister, the new Constitution will come into force in 2013, after the presidential election.

Author: Inna Kukudzhanova

Source: CK correspondent