New rules approved for election of Central Election Commission head, members
The Georgian NGOs were against the approval of the new rules by the state legislature. Photo: parliament of Georgia press office.
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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.’
Eighty-two MPs supported the changes proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party in its third and final reading in the 150-member state legislature.
According to the new rules, the CEC chair and members can be elected immediately with a simple majority (at least 76 MPs in the 150-member parliament) if the first vote, which requires the support of ⅔ of 150-MPs, fails.
The proposed change in the rules for electing the @cecgovge Chairperson and professional members is another violation of the #April19Agreement initiated by @eucopresident. Read more: https://t.co/iHXd2euJOS #Gvote #Elections #Georgia
— ISFED (@isfed_official) December 14, 2021
The previous procedures which were adopted following the April 2021 EU-mediated agreement, stated that the CEC chair and members must have been elected with a ⅔ supermajority of parliament.
If the vote was unsuccessful, another vote must have been held with the same threshold in no earlier than four weeks.
If MPs failed again to elect the candidates, subsequent votes must first required a ⅗ majority and then a simple majority, to be held within the same timeframe.
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) said earlier this week that if the new rules were elaborated, it would benefit the interests of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
The Georgian parliament has appointed four judges to the country’s Supreme Court earlier today despite calls from local NGOs and the international community to suspend the process before the implementation of fundamental judicial reforms.
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.
OSCE/ODIHR will send 350 short-term and 30 long-term observers to Georgia for the country’s October 2 municipal elections.
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.
The US Embassy to Georgia has stated that the Georgian parliament made a 'rushed decision' in approving new rules for electing the Central Election Commission (CEC) head and members. The embassy said that by supporting the amendments, the ruling Georgian Dream party took an 'unnecessary step away' from its commitment to strengthening Georgia's electoral system.
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.
Parliamentary and city council by-elections will be held in the Georgian seaside town of Batumi and the south-eastern city of Rustavi in April, the country's Central Election Commission (CEC) announced on Tuesday.
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.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia held mock elections using electronic verification and vote counting devices in Georgia’s seaside city of Batumi on Tuesday.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said the ruling team had made a decision on a widespread introduction of an electronic voter registration and voting system starting with the 2024 Parliamentary elections in the country.
Aleksandre Rakviashvili, an MP from the Girchi opposition party, on Tuesday welcomed the ruling Georgian Dream party’s announcement on introducing electronic voter registration and voting starting with the 2024 Parliamentary elections in the country, calling the move a “step forward” for ensuring a fairer electoral environment.
The Georgian Central Election Commission on Thursday accused unspecified domestic political actors of using the latest opinion by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, which recommended the election of the CEC Chair and its members by two-thirds of the parliamentary majority, to “discredit” the body.