Thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets to protest the parliament’s decision to not hold the 2020 elections with a proportional system (on party lists). Had the bill passed, the majoritarian system, which traditionally has given the ruling party a significant advantage, would have been abolished, Jam News reports.

Their main requirement is early parliamentary elections. Tents have been set up on Rustaveli Avenue in downtown Tbilisi.

The transition to a proportional system was one of the main requirements of protests in the summer. On June 24, after two days of rallies, the leader of the Georgian Dream Bidzina Ivanishvili made a public statement agreeing to fulfill the demand.

He said that Georgian Dream would agree to a proportional system and would present such a bill to parliament.

However, when the issue was put to a vote in parliament, many lawmakers from the party did not vote for the changes initiated by the Georgian Dream.