Georgian Parliament adopts EU-recommended electoral amendments in third reading
At the request of the domestic opposition, one more amendment was added to the bill, under which the certification will no longer be mandatory for the party members of the Election Commission. The Parliamentary working group on electoral reforms proposed the amendments in September. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
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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.
The bill featuring 20 amendments, including 13 reflecting international recommendations 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, was supported by 96 MPs.
The ruling Georgian Dream party reached an agreement on ten topics in two closed meetings with the opposition parties - Lelo, Strategy Agmashenebeli and the United National Movement, that had not participated in the Parliamentary working groups, created by the ruling party to address the conditions outlined by the EU for granting Georgia the membership candidate status.
Electoral reform, a part of second EU recommendation was adopted by @Geoparliament with wide multi-party support (96 votes). My special gratitude to @givi_mikanadze, & all MPs, including many from the opposition, who approached this matter with particular care & constructiveness. pic.twitter.com/N1v1xxyWUT
— Shalva Papuashvili ???????? (@shpapuashvili) December 22, 2022
At the request of the domestic opposition, one more amendment was added to the bill, under which the certification will no longer be mandatory for the party members of the Election Commission. The Parliamentary working group on electoral reforms proposed the amendments in September.
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.
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.
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.