The Parliament of Georgia will have to override the veto and finally adopt the amendments to the organic law on the National Bank of Georgia, the purpose of which is to ensure the smooth operation of the National Bank, – reads the statement of the political council of Georgian Dream.
As mentioned in the statement of the ruling party, the Parliament of Georgia will complete the procedure of overriding the veto in the next session week.
“Ms. Salome Zurabishvili’s actions create problems for the proper functioning of the most important constitutional institution, the National Bank of Georgia. To date, two positions of the board member are vacant in the National Bank of Georgia, and the position of the president of the National Bank has been vacant since March 2. According to the Constitution of Georgia, the members of the Board of the National Bank shall be elected by the Parliament after the nomination by the President. Accordingly, the said decision should be made on the basis of consultations between the ruling team and the President.
Such consultations between the ruling team and the President have already taken place, after which the President of Georgia confirmed her readiness to present the candidacy of Lasha Khutsishvili as one of the members of the board of the National Bank. During the consultations, specific dates were announced – February, March 8, etc. However, she violated all the agreed deadlines and she has not presented a candidate for membership of the board of the National Bank to the Parliament until now.
According to one of the agreements, Ms. Salome Zurabishvili should have presented the candidacy of Lasha Khutsishvili to the Parliament in case the Parliament of Georgia did not override the veto imposed by the President on the organic law on the National Bank of Georgia. The Parliament fulfilled the agreement and did not override the veto, however, unfortunately, Salome Zurabishvili broke the promise in this case as well. The last communication with the President on the issue of the election of board members took place yesterday on the initiative of the ruling team, however, Salome Zurabishvili said that she would not present any candidate to the Parliament by the end of the year. Such a harsh attitude by the President toward one of the most important constitutional institutions is in direct contradiction with her constitutional responsibility.
There are clear signs that the President of Georgia is purposefully obstructing the regular activities of the National Bank of Georgia with her actions. In such conditions, the Parliament of Georgia will have to override the veto and finally adopt the amendments to the organic law on the National Bank of Georgia, the purpose of which is to ensure the smooth operation of the National Bank. The Georgian Parliament will complete this procedure in the next session week.
The ruling team will not allow an institutional crisis in any state institution and will take care of the proper functioning of each constitutional body. This is the responsibility of the ruling team to our state and Georgian voters,” reads the statement.
Related Story: GD: President’s actions obstruct NBG’s normal functioning
