The US Embassy in Georgia stated that “Parliament’s rushed decision of rolling back recent reforms on the procedures for appointing Central Election Commission members undermines efforts agreed upon by the ruling and opposition parties to select these crucial positions through a process of multiparty consensus”.
According to the Embassy it is an unnecessary step to take away from the ruling parties commitments to citizens of Georgia and to the international community that they address longstanding ODIHR recommendation and work in partnership to strengthen Georgia’s democratic institutions and electoral system.
“For Georgian voters to have confidence, they must have confidence in impartiality, independence and qualifications of Central Election commission commission members. The previous consensus-based process was designed to achieve this, and both the ruling party as well as the opposition agreed on it. However, it was changed late in the process without any inclusive consultation.
The statement reads: “We call upon all parties in parliament, civil society and the President to work together in order to identify and reach a multi-partisan consensus regarding the most qualified, independent and impartial candidates for the Central Election Commission positions that will become vacant in the month of February.”
Irakli Kobakhidze of the Georgian Dream called the United States’ assessment as “not right” and claimed that the bill that was initiated by the ruling team had no alternative because the country needed a Central Election Commission that worked well.
“The election administration, headed by the CEC chairman, has proven that it can conduct elections properly, which is a merit of the CEC Chairman.” Kobakhidze said, “I cannot assess the assessment as being fair.”
By Ana Dumbadze
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