Georgian parliament elects Central Election Commission head, two members in fourth vote
The new head of the CEC Kalandarishvili has worked on the CEC for 13 years. He was appointed as the head of the CEC Human Resources Management Department in 2019. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The Georgian parliament has elected Giorgi Kalandarishvili as the new head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) in a fourth vote, following the resignation of the body’s former chair Tamar Zhvania in late June.
Two other individuals, Gia Tsatsashvili and Maia Zaridze, were elected members of the commission.
Zhvania’s resignation was preceded by electoral amendments which were proposed by the ruling party and opposition party Citizens and were revised in line with the EU-mediated agreement that resolved the political standoff caused by parliamentary elections of 2020 and afterwards were adopted in the Georgian parliament.
Per the amendments, the CEC head can now be elected only by the Georgian parliament with the Georgian president’s nomination and not by the CEC itself.
Giorgi Kalandarishvili’s candidacy received 83 votes in favour and three votes against, while Tsatsashvili’s and Zaridze’s candidacies for the membership on the CEC were supported by 81 votes.
In the previous three votes none of the candidates received either 100 or 90 votes, therefore the newly elected candidates have been appointed to the posts for six months, instead of five years.
The new head of the CEC Kalandarishvili has worked on the CEC for 13 years. He was appointed as the head of the CEC Human Resources Management Department in 2019.
NGOs and the majority of opposition political parties did not support Kalandarishvili’s candidacy for the post and expressed their distrust by questioning his independence.
Several opposition parties refused to participate in the voting process.
Ruling Georgian Dream party MP Shalva Papuashvili has said that NGOs planned to leave the Central Election Commission (CEC) unstaffed following reforms which saw the resignation of the body’s chair Tamar Zhvania in late June, and to later stack the CEC with its own representative.
Two candidates for the post of chair and five candidates for membership on the Central Election Commission have been proposed to the president following the recent resignation of Tamar Zhvania on June 30. The Georgian parliament adopted electoral amendments on June 28 proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party and opposition party Citizens amid months of standoff between the government and opposition and were revised in compliance with the April 19 EU-mediated agreement.
The head of Georgia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) Tamar Zhvania has resigned earlier today ‘to help the smooth implementation’ of the April 19 EU-mediated agreement. Zhvania, who has held the post for almost eight years, has stated in her Facebook post that the new head of the CEC should be elected according to recently adopted amendments in the country's Election Code ‘which are in line with the EU-mediated agreement.’
The Georgian parliament has adopted electoral amendments earlier today with its third and final reading which were initially proposed back in March 2021 by the ruling Georgian Dream party and Citizens opposition and later were revised in line with the April 19 EU-mediated agreement.
The International Republican Institute (IRI) has released the results of a nationwide poll which revealed that 75 per cent of Georgians are very likely to vote in the upcoming municipal elections. 25 per cent of the voters who are not likely to participate in the local elections say that they ‘do not have confidence in the electoral process.’
Significant shortcomings were not found in the parliamentary elections of October 31, 2020, the temporary parliamentary commission created to study the matter stated earlier today. The Georgian parliament established the temporary commission earlier this year to investigate allegations of parliamentary election violations, which caused a six-month political standoff in the country and was largely solved following the EU-mediated agreement on April 19.
The Georgian parliament has failed to elect a new chairperson and members of the Central Election Commission (CEC) for the third time, following the resignation of the CEC’s head Tamar Zhvania on June 30. Zhvania’s resignation was demanded by the opposition following the 2020 parliamentary elections, of which they accused her of helping the ruling Georgian Dream party to fabricate. Further changes came to the country’s electoral system on June 28 thanks to the EU-mediated agreement, which put an end to the political standoff in Georgia caused by the parliamentary elections of October 31.
The Georgian parliament has failed to elect a new head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) for a second time following the resignation of the body’s chairperson Tamar Zhvania in late June. Zhvania’s resignation followed electoral amendments proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition party Citizens which were revised in compliance with the EU-mediated agreement which ended months of political crisis caused by the parliamentary elections of 2020 and afterwards were adopted in the Georgian parliament on June 28.
OSCE/ODIHR will send 350 short-term and 30 long-term observers to Georgia for the country’s October 2 municipal elections.
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) has reported 15 alleged cases of dismissal on political grounds in Georgia in the run up to the October 2 municipal elections. The organisation has also reported several cases of direct or indirect compulsion for the involvement of the educational institutions’ employees in the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party’s campaign. However, ISFED praised the process of interviewing the candidates for membership of the District Election Commission (DEC) which was broadcast live.
Georgian central and district commission members have signed a code of ethics ahead of the upcoming October 2 municipal elections in Georgia, promising to remain fair, impartial and independent.
Former chair of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia Tamar Zhvania has been appointed the new head of the International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IFES) in Uzbekistan.
The Georgian parliament approved new rules for the election of the head of the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC) and its members earlier today despite the calls of NGOs not to support the ‘simplified procedures.’
The Administration of the President of Georgia submitted its list of candidates for the positions of the Central Election Commission (CEC) head and members to the parliament earlier today.
The Georgian parliament has re-elected Giorgi Kalandarishvili the head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) earlier today. Elected in a second vote, Kalandarishvili will serve as the CEC head for a six-months term.