TBILISI, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Georgian parliament on Friday adopted draft amendments to the country's constitution in the first reading, local Interpress News Agency reported.
According to the report, the draft amendments gained 115 votes in the 150-seat parliament while all members of parliament from the opposition parties boycotted the session.
According to the adopted document, the parliamentary governance system will be introduced to certain fields. One of the major changes is to transit from a mixed electoral system to a proportional electoral system, which will be introduced for the 2024 parliamentary elections.
Another major change alters the way the country elects its president.Under the new law, Georgian president will be elected by a special electoral collegium composed of 150 members of the parliament instead of being elected in a general election.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili on Friday hailed the amendments as helping the government become more efficient.
Davit Bakradze, leader of the largest opposition faction in parliament European Georgia party, said "this is the document which stands solely on the consensus with the Georgian Dream."
The ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party won 115 seats of parliament in last year's election, which theoretically enable it to revise the constitution with over two-thirds of votes in the legislature.
