Georgian Public Broadcaster is still without Board

Parliament has agreed on one candidate and struck down two others for positions on the Georgian Public Broadcaster Board of Trustees after a lengthy debate.

Lela Gafrindashvili, the Ombudsman’s candidate, gained unanimous support and was elected with 117 votes yesterday.

Controversy has surrounded the appointment of new GPB Board of Trustee members. Yesterday was the second round of voting after an attempt in December failed. 

Following Gafrindashvili's appointment, there are five vacant seats on the Board.  

Gaprindashhvili is an associated professor at Tbilisi State University and a member of the advisory board of the Womens Fund in Georgia.

Earlier, Parliament did not support three nominated candidates - Ninia Kakabadze, Geno Geladze and Lela Gaprindashvili.

Ninia Kakabade was nominated by the United National Movement, Lela Gaprindashvili was nominated by the Ombudsman and Geno Geladze was nominated by the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara.

On December 27, 2013, Parliament confirmed only three members of the GPB board while another three were neglected by Parliament. Consequently, six seats of nine were left vacant.

Two of the Board members must be named by the Ombudsman, three by the parliamentary majority, three by the parliamentary minority (one quarter of MPs) and one by the Supreme Court of the Automnomous Republic of Adjara.

Amendments to the Law on Broadcasting, upon which the GPB Board was formed, were approved by the Georgian Parliament after a three month discussion in May last year.

The amendments, initiated by the Georgian Dream coalition and created by the public and media organisations, outlined a new way to construct the GPB Board, transform the Adjara Television to the public broadcaster and ensure more financial transparency of TV broadcasters.