Electoral bill for Georgia’s EU candidacy conditions to be proposed in September - ruling party MP
Ruling Georgian Dream party MP Givi Mikanadze said on Thursday the proposal of the electoral bill related to conditions for the EU membership candidate status for Georgia was expected in mid-September. Photo: Parliament of Georgia press office
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Electoral amendments necessary for obtaining the European Union membership candidate status for Georgia will be proposed in September by the Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee, with the bill drafted in line with recommendations of the Parliamentary working group set up earlier this month to address electoral issues, ruling Georgian Dream party MP Givi Mikanadze said on Thursday.
Following the second meeting of the working group earlier on Thursday, chaired by Mikanadze, the MP said amendments over the composition of district election commissions, certification of their members, facilitation of participation of people with disabilities in elections, election-related financial questions and other electoral topics were expected to be come with the deadline of September 21.
The majority of electoral matters were addressed in previous years. There are only a few questions which still require to be addressed”, Mikanadze said.
Pointing at the importance of the process for the ruling party, Mikanadze claimed the bill would reflect electoral recommendations provided by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.
The Georgian Dream ruling party says it is doing "its utmost" to ensure a membership candidate status for Georgia. Photo: Parliament of Georgia press office.
Along with ruling party MPs, the working group meeting involved some opposition legislators, representatives of the International Fund for Electoral Systems and the US Embassy, as well as the President’s Parliamentary Secretary.
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, a non-governmental organisation invited to the process, refused to participate in the work in solidarity with the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, an election watchdog excluded from the meetings on decision of the ruling party.
In their previous comments, ruling party officials have accused ISFED of being “politically biased” and highlighted the organisation’s erroneous parallel vote-count data in the 2020 Parliamentary elections, which they said had encouraged the “radical part” of the domestic opposition to spark tension and boycott Parliamentary work.
Georgia was granted European perspective by the European Council in June and has several months to address conditions related to the country’s judiciary, electoral and other areas in order to receive the EU membership candidate status next year.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, a Georgian-based election watchdog, had “no place” in the Parliamentary working groups discussing reforms for obtaining the European Union membership candidate status for the country.
Givi Mikanadze, an MP for the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said it was “difficult to talk about" national consensus when leaders of the domestic "radical opposition" were announcing rallies and "trying to radicalise the political environment" in the country.
The working group proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party in the Parliament and tasked with revising domestic electoral laws in line with the European Commission conditions for the country’s EU membership candidacy held its first meeting on Thursday.
The ruling Georgian Dream party on Friday presented its strategy for fulfilling the 12-point conditions outlined by the European Council for granting the country the European Union membership candidate status later this year.
Ilia Darchiashvili, the Georgian Foreign Minister will participate on Tuesday and Wednesday in a two-day informal Gymnich format meeting of the European Union foreign ministers in Czech Republic capital city of Prague, discussing the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the suspension of visa liberalisation for Russian citizens with foreign ministers of the 27 EU member states.
The evaluations of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe on electoral amendments implemented by Georgian authorities with the goal of gaining the European Union membership candidate status are “clearly positive”, Givi Mikanadze, a ruling Georgian Dream party MP, said on Monday.
The Georgian Parliament on Thursday adopted amendments to the country’s electoral code in their penultimate reading as part of the conditions set by the European Union in June for granting it the membership candidate status.
The Georgian Parliament on Thursday adopted amendments to the country’s electoral code in their third reading, as part of the recommendations set by the European Union in June for granting it the membership candidate status, with multi-party support.