Georgian Parliament fails to elect Central Election Commission Chair
A 100-vote quorum was necessary for the election of either Tamar Alpaidze and Revaz Egadze for the position of the Chair. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
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Georgian Parliament on Thursday failed to elect the Chair and members of the country’s Central Election Commission after the candidates proposed by President Salome Zourabichvili did not receive support from MPs.
A 100-vote quorum was necessary for the election of either Tamar Alpaidze and Revaz Egadze for the position of the Chair.
Giorgi Marsagishvili and Natia Tsiptauri were nominated for the vacant position of a Commission member.
Finally, Levan Isakadze and Kristine Kajaia were nominated for a second vacant member position in the body overseeing elections in the country.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said “many people” in the domestic opposition had been “ready for a consensus” in agreeing on a candidate for the next Public Defender, but added the process had failed in the Parliament due to an “ultimatum from NGOs”, and called the development a “sad reality”.
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 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.
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.
Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, on Saturday said the domestic opposition was “fully responsible” for the failure of the Public Defender election.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Tuesday submitted a list of candidates for the positions of the head and member of the Central Election Commission to the Parliament and announced a competition for one position.
The Georgian Parliament will officially resume its work on February 7 for the spring session, the press office of the legislative body said on Tuesday.
Georgia’s electoral reform was discussed on Monday in a meeting between Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the Chair of the Central Election Commission, and John Pennell, the Mission Director for the United States Agency for International Development in the Caucasus.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said the ruling team was ready to “once again” concede the task of selecting candidates for the country’s new Public Defender to the domestic opposition.