Former Central Election Commission chair appointed head of International Foundation of Electoral Systems in Uzbekistan

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.

IFES is an international, non-profit organisation founded in 1978. Based in Arlington, IFES works to advance good governance and democratic  rights by empowering technical assistance to election officials and applying field-based research to improve the electoral cycle.

Zhvania was the chair of the Central Election Commission for almost eight years, from 2013 to 2021. Under her leadership, the Georgian CEC oversaw the administration of six national elections, including parliamentary, presidential and municipal elections.

Zhvania resigned on June 30, 2021.

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In her statement Zhvania noted that she had more than two years to stay in the role, however she thought that the ‘EU-mediated agreement offers a new reality in the country and the head of CEC should be elected according to new regulations’.

She said her resignation ‘is likely to boost the opportunity of the construction of a relationship between political forces that will benefit the election administration and the whole country’.

The Georgian opposition parties accused Zhvania of fabricating the 2020 parliamentary elections along with the ruling Georgian Dream party

Before her career in public service, Zhvania was a project manager at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Zhvania also served as the executive director of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) in 2000-2006.