This move gives rise to concerns, in light of the national and international positive obligations to ensure gender equality as described above. The explanatory report on the amendments claims that the quota mechanism proved to be ineffective, but it does not provide any empirical evidence. At the same time, representatives of the two parties which supported its abolishment indicated to the rapporteurs that the quota mechanism had already to some extent achieved its goal, as the number of women involved in politics had increased and women’s issues had become a relevant part of the political agenda. According to information available to the rapporteurs, the representation of women in politics did indeed increase after the introduction of mandatory gender quotas:36 women’s representation in Parliament, compared to the Parliament of the ninth convocation (2016), increased by 3% and amounted to 19.1% (in 2020); and their number in local councils rose from 13.8% (in 2017) to 24% (in 2021). At the same time, these numbers clearly indicate that more progress is necessary, bearing in mind that more than half of the Georgian population are women. Most of the rapporteurs’ interlocutors agreed that mandatory gender quotas were still necessary in Georgia and had proved to be the most effective tool to facilitate the election of women candidates; moreover, the shift to a fully proportional system in parliamentary elections – which will first be applied in the October 2024 elections – might have increased their effectiveness. They also raised particular concerns about local elections, where quotas had been particularly effective. Finally, several interlocutors stressed that in the present situation in Georgia, gender quotas alone would not be sufficient but should be complemented by further measures – by the State and by political parties – to protect and encourage female candidates.