Georgian President vetoes amendments to Election Commission member election regulations

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Tuesday vetoed amendments to the election code, approved by the Parliament, that stipulated transfer of the power to elect the Chair and members of the Central Election Commission to the President if the legislative body failed to elect them in two attempts.

The changes involved a stipulation whereby if the Parliament fails to elect a candidate to the Chair by a three-fifths majority, and again by 76 votes twice, the decision is transferred to the President’s office.

In her comments, Zourabichvili said the changes failed to improve the role of her office in the appointments, leaving it “limited”.

[The proposal] cannot substantially change the degree of involvement and role of the President, because there is a very low probability that the Parliament of Georgia will not be able to elect a candidate twice with a majority of [76 votes]”, the statement said.

Zourabichvili’s 11-page substantiation of her veto was sent to the Parliament and also cited recommendations by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights as motivating her decision.