According to the Administration of the President of Georgia, the President will veto the legislative package relating to the rules of selection of candidates for the Central Election Commission chairmanship and professional membership, if adopted.
The matter concerns the legislative changes that will give the Chairman of Parliament the prerogative to present candidates for chairman of the CEC and members of the CEC to Parliament instead of the President.
The President’s Administration notes that one-party appointments are against statehood and the country’s European future.
The Administration released a statement, where it is mentioned that the President is guided by the degree of their independence and impartiality during the selection of candidates and does not question their qualifications.
“For the third time, the ruling majority is changing the laws because the President did not present the candidates they wanted for specific positions.
In particular, the candidates for the positions of: ambassadors, members of the board of the National Bank, chairman and members of the Central Election Commission. In all three cases, the President’s principled position derives from state and not personal interests.
“The President is guided by the degree of their independence and impartiality during the selection of candidates. She does not question their qualifications, but she fundamentally believes that single-party appointments to such positions are against statehood and the country’s European future. Therefore, the President will veto this law as well,” reads the statement.
Earlier, the members of the ‘For Georgia’ party called on the President to veto the changes related to the Central Election Commission, and appealed to international partners and local organizations to strengthen their efforts against the adoption of the law.
“The changes planned by Georgian Dream regarding the Central Election Commission clearly show that the government, whose trust is in question today, is already preparing to rig the 2024 elections,” MP Beka Liluashvili, a member of the For Georgia party, said at a briefing in Parliament.
“This means that they have no other resource than rigging. In order to maintain their informal power and influence, they are determined to deprive citizens of their right to vote and they are determined to steal our European future.
“The judiciary and the Central Election Commission are fully controlled by the Dream. The daily assault on our partners and the campaign of discrediting monitoring organizations creates a critical need to protect the elections, and we all have to play our part in this, because fair and transparent elections are the only democratic way to save the European future of this country.
“Fear of losing power should not be a motive for the abolition of state institutions; the fate of the elections should not be decided in any of Ivanishvili’s residences.
“Therefore, we appeal to the President of Georgia to use the right of veto to protect the elections.
“We also appeal to strategic partners and local organizations to strengthen their efforts against the adoption of the law and ensuring free and fair elections.
“We call on the political parties and the media to make all efforts to protect the elections,” Liluashvili said.
Legislative changes were put on the agenda after the President refused to support the current Chairman Giorgi Kalandarishvili. Georgian Dream did not support the candidates presented by the President, yet Kalandarishvili still holds the position of CEC Chairman.
Georgian Dream has decided the Chairman of Parliament will have the prerogative to present the nominations for Chairman of the CEC and members of the CEC to Parliament instead of the President.
According to the draft law prepared by Georgian Dream, 7 members of the CEC will be elected by the Parliament of Georgia with the majority of the full composition, on the nomination of the Speaker of the Parliament, and no more than 9 members of the CEC will be appointed by the parties.
The procedure for electing the chairman and members of the CEC was stipulated in the “Charles Michel agreement” of April 19, 2021, however, since this agreement was made, Georgian Dream has already changed it, and now the ruling party is allowing for the exclusion of the role of the opposition and the President.
According to the draft law prepared by Georgian Dream, the procedure for electing the chairman and members of the CEC will be changed as follows:
• The Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia will announce a competition for the selection of the chairman and members of the CEC, and will create a competition commission. The presence of a representative of the President of Georgia in the competition commission is guaranteed;
• The Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia presents the nominations for chairman of the CEC and the members of the CEC to the Parliament of Georgia. The participation of the President of Georgia in the process of submitting candidacies for the chairmanship of the CEC and membership of the CEC is envisaged, if the Parliament of Georgia is unable to select persons for the vacant positions;
• The CEC chairman and CEC members are elected for a 5-year term;
• The chairman and members of the CEC will be elected by Parliament by the majority of the full composition, according to the rules established by the regulations.
The competition commission will be created based on the order of the Chairman of Parliament and will be composed of 9 members. It should include 1 representative of the President of Georgia, representatives of civil society and academic circles. The commission will be headed by its elected chairman. The competition commission makes a decision by the majority of the full composition.
According to the draft law, when Parliament elects a member of the CEC, each of the candidates for the CEC membership shall be voted on separately. The candidate who is supported by the majority of the full composition of the Parliament during the voting shall be considered elected. If all vacancies are not filled as a result of voting, the candidate presented by the President of Georgia will be voted on. If a vacancy remains unfilled, a new competition for the vacancy will be announced.
Compiled by Ana Dumbadze
