Home > 1.3.2 Freedom of voters to express their wishes > GEORGIA - Joint Opinion on the Election Code
 
 
 
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Paragraph 76
 

These provisions result from the abolishment of interim elections in case a mandate becomes vacant. They are problematic in several respects: Applied to the proportional seats, the cancellation of a mandate alters the representation of votes in Parliament from the day of the cancellation of the mandate until the end of the legislature. In addition to altering the translation of votes into seats, when applied to the district seats, cancellation of mandates would diminish the representation of the corresponding district in Parliament and challenges the principle of territorial representation which constitutes the basis for the creation of district electoral constituencies. Further, should a number of mandates be cancelled during the four-year term of the Parliament, the Parliament could consist of members elected by a minority of citizens. It is recommended that the provisions of Article 106 be reassessed in order to take these concerns into consideration.