Georgian Parliament Speaker approves amendments to Central Election Administration staff elections

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said he had signed into law amendments to the Election Code regulations concerning elections of members and the Chair of the Central Election Administration.

Papuashvili said the document would give the lawmaking body an opportunity to overcome a “three-year-long stalemate” stemming from the European Union-mediated April 19, 2020 Agreement between the Government and domestic opposition to resolve tensions stemming from that year’s parliamentary elections.

I would like to highlight that previous regulation – for electing Commission members with a two-thirds majority and appointing an opposition politician as a substitute Chairperson – does not exist [as a practice] in any country”, he said in comments.

Moreover, this strange rule was not elaborated based on the dialogue between the parties, but was an idea insisted on by the mediator, and it obviously has not worked and would not have worked, especially during the period before the upcoming elections”, he said.

The lawmaker also claimed the domestic opposition would have “used this stalemate as an excuse for not recognising” results of this year's parliamentary elections, scheduled for October 26.

A law that brings us to a stalemate shall be amended. This is an axiom. And a stalemate created by the law that can facilitate radicalism and damage the country shall be amended as soon as possible”, he added.

The Speaker said the “experimental law” had been in effect for over three years even while the April 19 Agreement had been cancelled, and said the Government “could not allow futile experiments” before the upcoming elections.