Georgian Dream MP: ruling party will override President’s veto of Election Commission amendments

Beka Davituliani, an MP for the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said the parliamentary majority would override President Salome Zourabichvili’s veto on amendments to the election code related to decisions made at the Central Election Commission of the country.

Davituliani also commented on the opinion of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, which on Tuesday said “the practice in Georgia of frequently amending the electoral legislation risks undermining the integrity of the electoral process and the state’s ongoing efforts to consolidate democracy”.

The lawmaker said the ruling team would not consider recommendations that they believed were “not fair”.

We very often take into account recommendations of the Venice Commission. We take into account any recommendation that we consider to be fair, [but] we do not take into account any that we do not consider to be fair and useful”, he said.

The amendments, approved by the Parliament, stipulate reduction of the quorum for decisions of the election administration body from two thirds to a majority of its full composition.