Georgian Parliament Speaker takes responsibility for GPB board fiasco

Georgia’s Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili has taken full responsibility for the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) Board election fiasco and said he is the only man responsible that the organisation remains without a Board.

He made this statement at a press conference today.

"To the question who is responsible for this fiasco, that Parliament has only agreed on four nominees, my answer is Parliament Speaker Davit Usupashvili,” Usupashvili announced to journalists.

"This was a semi-successful, semi-unsuccessful process and I am responsible for it. However the laws were not violated at all.”

Usupashvili said Parliament would name the Georgian Public Broadcaster Board of Trustees in the near future. When questioned further, he estimated this would take more than a month.

So far 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 last week.

Lela Gafrindashvili, the Ombudsman’s candidate, gained unanimous support and was elected with 117 votes on Friday. It was the second round of voting after an attempt in December failed.

Currently there are five vacant seats on the Board.

On December 27, 2013, Parliament confirmed only three members of the GPB board while another three were neglected by Parliament.

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 Autonomous Republic of Adjara.