The new report by Transparency International Georgia shows that undeclared business assets and incompatible activities of MPs remains a problem in the 9th convocation of the Parliament of Georgia.Based on official data, the report has found the following:Business interests of MPs
On June 16, the Parliament of Georgia adopted a legislative amendment that place a moratorium on the sale of agricultural land to foreign citizens and stateless persons with the third and final hearing. The amendments to the Law on Agricultural Land Ownership were jointly initiated by a number of MPs. [1]
On June 16, 2017, the Venice Commission will approve its final opinion about the draft of amendments to the Constitution of Georgia.
On May 4, the Parliament held a first reading and gave an approval to amendments to regulations governing the procedure of proposing legislative bills. The initiative entails adopting new procedures and rules for proposing bills to the Parliament which will differ from the existing practice.
The State Constitutional Commission was established on December 15, 2016, and the last session was held on April 22, 2017. Transparency International Georgia was actively involved in the work of the Commission. Below is presented our assessment of the work of the Commission. We believe, that the most important issues for the discussion of the Commission were the parliamentary and presidential electoral systems.
Currently, 20 political parties are being funded from the state budget in Georgia. This is an unprecedented number in the country’s history. The main reason for this increase in the number of qualified parties is the country’s flawed legislation, which provides financial incentives for parties to become qualified by forming election blocks.
On April 20, Transparency International Georgia submitted a legislative proposal to the Parliament, the main purpose of which is to prohibit pre-electoral agitation, including advertisements, that include the threat of violation by the Russian Federation of the territorial integrity and constitutional order of Georgia, the independence and sovereignty of the country and/or the legitimation of occupation.
Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) has submitted its recommendations regarding the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan 2017-2018 to the Permanent Parliamentary Council on Open and Transparent Governance.
According to the Law on Broadcasting, the Board of Trustees of the Public Broadcaster consists of nine members, and one-third of trustees are supposed to change by rotation once in every two years. The timeframes for the election of new trustees are also set by the same law.