The President of the Republic, Salomé Zurabishvili, vetoed the amendments to the Electoral Code adopted by the Parliament of Georgia, the press service of the formal Head of State reported on March 5.
“To ensure a high degree of trust in the CEC, it is important that the vice-chairman, elected from CEC members nominated by opposition parties, be retained and given appropriate powers.”says the message.
The President also proposed to hold an open competition for candidates for the post of president and members of the Central Election Commission, whose powers have expired or will expire before May 1.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told reporters that Zurabishvili continues his anti-state actions. He also said the ruling Georgian Dream party would override the veto. To do this, it is necessary to repeat the vote and obtain 76 votes, and this political force has 79 seats in parliament.
The amendments to the Electoral Code of Georgia provide for the abolition of the position of deputy chairman of the Central Election Commission, elected by the opposition. In addition, the bill simplifies the approval procedure for members and the chairman of the Central Election Commission.
Under current law, long-term appointments to the CEC require 90 votes in parliament. Due to disagreements between Dream and the opposition, votes on these issues fail. The amendments provide that if the vote fails, it must be held two more times, but 76 votes will be enough to reach an agreement on the candidates. If the vote fails a third time, the president will make the appointments.
Recall that in April 2021, Georgian Dream agreed to make concessions to opposition parties, which refused to work in parliament and declared the results of the 2020 parliamentary elections falsified. Among other things, the authorities agreed to strengthen the influence of the opposition in the Electoral Code. In July, Dream withdrew from the deal because the country’s largest opposition party, the United National Movement, did not start working in parliament.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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