the Constitution and exercises other rights. The Parliament of Georgia is a unicameral legislature. The Constitution envisages, following the full restoration of Georgia's jurisdiction throughout the entire territory of Georgia (including breakaway Abkhazia and South Ossetia, designated by Georgia as Russian-occupied territories), creation of a bicameral parliament: the Council of the Republic and the Senate. The Council is to be composed of members elected through a proportional system; members of the Senate are to be elected from the autonomous republics of Abkhazia, Adjara, and other territorial units of Georgia, and five members appointed by the President of Georgia. The Parliament is composed of 150 members (a reduction from a total of 235 in 1995), elected for a term of four years through a mixed system: 77 are proportional representatives and 73 are elected through single-member district plurality system, representing their constituencies. According to the 2017 constitutional amendments, the Parliament will make a transition to fully proportional representation in 2024. Election The Parliament of Georgia is elected on the basis of universal, free, equal and direct suffrage, by secret ballot. Scheduled parliamentary elections are held on the last Saturday of October of the calendar year in which the term of Parliament expires. In case of the dissolution of the Parliament, elections are called no earlier than the 45th day and no later than the 60th day after the legislature is dissolved. If the election date coincides with a state of emergency or martial law, elections are held no earlier than the 45th day and no later than the 60th day after the state of emergency or martial law has been revoked. The 2017 amendment increased the membership candidacy age from 21 to 25. Any citizen of Georgia with the electoral right and who has lived in Georgia for at least 10 years qualifies for membership of the Parliament. A person sentenced to prison cannot be elected as a member of Parliament. A political party whose member is an incumbent member of the Parliament or is supported by the signatures of at least 25,000 voters can take part in the election. For the 2020 election, the threshold for entering the Parliament will be reduced to 3% and parties will be allowed to form electoral blocs. However, beginning in 2024, the threshold will return to 5% and electoral blocs will no longer be allowed. Sessions and sittings The first meeting of the newly