Venice Commission, ODIHR advise "more holistic approach", stability of changes in Georgian election code

The Venice Commission and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (ODIHR) advise "more holistic approach" and less frequent changes to Georgian election code in their urgent opinion document released on Friday.

The joint paper includes a number of recommendations for amending the electoral bill that followed the agreement between the government and some opposition parties in April, breaking a political deadlock in the country following opposition parties' boycott of the parliament after the October 31, 2020 elections.

The Venice Commission/ODIHR opinion paper offers advice on composition of election administration, frequency of changes to the electoral legislation and more, while acknowledging that draft amendments to the code were made in "close cooperation between the ruling party and several opposition parties", a fact "particularly noteworthy" considering the boycott.

[T]he return to Parliament by several opposition parties and the revision of the draft amendments to the Electoral Code on the basis of the agreement [...] are clearly to be welcomed – even though not all elected opposition parties have as yet signed the agreement and taken up their parliamentary mandates

- Venice Commission, ODIHR Urgent Joint Opinion on Revised Draft Amendments to the Election Code

Underscoring the importance of stability in electoral law as a "precondition to public trust in electoral processes", the paper notes the timing for the reforming of the legislation in Georgia is "not ideal" given the proximity of the next local elections in October of this year.

• See recommendations of the joint urgent opinion by the Venice Commission and ODIHR in the full text of the paper

It also raises the issue of frequent amends to electoral legislation, a process that "risks undermining the integrity of the electoral process and ongoing efforts to consolidate democracy".

However, the "broad political consensus" in Georgia on carrying out the reforms makes the current process "acceptable", the commissioned opinion states, while also noting that changes to the code can only be facilitated through "dialogue amongst all the stakeholders".

The two organisations authored the paper following a request by Kakha Kuchava, Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia last month.