Georgia's ruling party has said next year's parliamentary elections will be held under a new proportional electoral system following four days of protests over relations with Russia, which props up two breakaway republics in the country.

Oligarch and former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, head of the Georgian Dream party, on Monday promised constitutional amendments to phase out the current mixed system by the 2020 vote, as demanded by demonstrators.

This will speed up a planned switch to a proportional system, which was to happen only in 2024 according to a constitution adopted in 2017 with input from the Council of Europe's Venice Commission.

In addition, the 5 per cent threshold for a party to make it into parliament will be removed entirely.

The current mixed system “may serve our party interests but it can no longer meet the challenges facing the country,” Mr Ivanishvili said.

Meanwhile, Russia said on Monday it was implementing tougher checks on Georgian wine, similar to how it banned such imports in 2006 in what was seen as a form of political pressure.