Georgia initiates changes to the Constitution

The Georgian MPs have initiated amendments to the Constitution regarding the powers of the Government and the Prime Minister. The amendments assume to allow the persons-holders of dual citizenship to hold high state posts and to reduce the quorum for adopting amendments to the Constitution.

"The first step is to lower the barrier to adopting amendments to the Constitution. This autumn will see, with the inauguration of the new President of Georgia, the new wording of the Constitution, which states that adoption of the amendments to the Constitution will need support of three fourths of the MPs, that is, of 113 of them," the Vice-Speaker Manana Kobakhidze told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The draft amendments to the Constitution also stipulate the powers of the government. In particular, if a bill initiated by the government is not supported by the parliament, then, the parliament either passes it without discussion in the first reading or the parliament should be dissolved, Vakhtang Khmaladze, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the Parliament, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Also, the "Georgian Dream" offers to allow people with dual citizenship to hold senior government posts – of the president, prime minister and chairman of the parliament. It should be noted that Bidzina Ivanishvili, the current Prime Minister of Georgia and the leader of the ruling coalition "Georgian Dream", is a citizen of France; and in case the Georgian citizenship is returned to him, he will automatically lose the right to occupy his current post of the head of the government.

The next plenary session will create the organizing commission, which will acquaint – within a month – the broad public with the draft of the constitutional amendments; after which they will be brought to the Parliament.