Resignations Following the protests of 20–21 June 2019,
Irakli Kobakhidze, Georgia's Chairman of Parliament, announced his resignation. After the failure of the proposed electoral amendments to be passed on 13 November 2019, the ruling party and the opposition held several rounds of talks, which began in late November. On 8 March 2020, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the parties, marking achievement of consensus over electoral reform. The amendments were adopted by the
Georgian Parliament on 29 June 2020, with 117 out of 142 members voting in support for the reforms. The new electoral law stipulated that 120 deputies would be elected via proportional representation, while another 30 would be elected from single-member constituencies. The constituencies would be drawn according to the instructions given by the
Venice Commission, and the Georgian judiciary. For proportional representation seats, the electoral threshold was fixed at 1%. No party could obtain a majority of seats without getting at least 40% of votes from the electorate. The transition to the fully proportional system was postponed to 2024.
Prosecution and amnesty On 26 June,
Nika Melia, an opposition leader and
United National Movement MP was charged with organizing, managing or participating in group violence during the protests. The Georgian parliament suspended his
parliamentary immunity, allowing his detention if necessary. On 28 June, the court rejected prosecution motion for pre-trial detention and ordered Melia to post a bail, wear an electronic bracelet to be monitored and also to surrender his passport during the investigation. The court decision also banned Melia from leaving home without previously informing law enforcers, making public statements in public areas and communicating with witnesses. On 4 July 2019, the
Prosecutor's Office of Georgia launched an investigation into charges of 'attempting a
coup'. On 25 July, former Defence Minister of Georgia
Irakli Okruashvili was arrested on charges of organizing, leading and participating in mass violence during the protests. On 27 July, the court sent Okruashvili to pre-trial detention. On 13 April 2020, Okruashvili was sentenced to five years in prison. However, President
Salome Zourabichvili pardoned him on May 15, 2020. The release was demanded by the opposition, which considered Irakli Okruashvili a political prisoner, and vowed not to back constitutional amendments for electoral reform as agreed in March 8 Agreement. On 1 November 2020, Melia was one of the leaders of the opposition rally protesting the alleged
electoral fraud during the
2020 parliamentary election. During the demonstration, Melia took off the monitoring bracelet, calling it "the symbol of injustice". In response, the court increased his bail. However, Melia refused to pay the bail. On February 17, 2021, the court sentenced him to pre-trial detention. Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia suggested to postpone Melia's arrest, and after failing to reach the agreement with his party colleagues, subsequently announced his resignation, causing a
government crisis. The Ministry of Internal Affairs decided to postpone the operation, but only temporarily before the situation was neutralized. On February 23, the police stormed the UNM office and arrested Melia. On 19 April 2021, the opposition and the government reached an agreement, which allowed Melia's release from prison. Bail of Nika Melia – 40 000 GEL was transferred by the
European Union on 8 May, and the
Prosecutor's Office filed a motion to replace Melia's pretrial detention with a release on bail on 9 May. Delegation of European Union in Georgia said in a statement on 8 May: "Today, a bail worth 40.000 GEL was posted to allow for Mr. Melia's release from pre-trial detention. This follows the understanding reached by the political parties on April 19, 2021, in the context of the EU-mediated agreement. We would like to warmly thank two independent organisations who agreed to lend their valuable support in this process: the
European Endowment for Democracy (EED) who made the funds available and the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) who transferred these funds to the authorities." On 10 May, Melia was released from prison by the court decision. The agreement between the opposition and the government was envisaged the amnesty law that would grant clemency to any wrongdoers, both protesters and law enforcement officers, during the protests. The law was adopted by the parliament on 7 September 2021. It granted clemency to any wrongdoer, except those implicated in the grave injury, torture, threat of torture and inhumane treatment. It covered all concluded, ongoing or possible future investigations. ==Reactions==