Irakli Kobakhidze Announces Plans to Override President Zourabichvili's Veto on Changes in Election Code
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chairman of Georgian Dream, told journalists that in all situations, there is a necessity to override President Zourabichvili's veto, even for technical reasons. He noted that there is an interest in deliberately creating an institutional crisis within the Central Election Commission (CEC).
According to Kobakhidze, the implemented changes in regulations must be upheld to avoid a mere procedural election of the CEC chairman and members. He expressed concern over an apparent interest in sabotaging and creating an artificial institutional crisis within the CEC. The initial purpose of the clause in the April 19 agreement was to generate such a crisis, which led to the revision of the draft. The same interest persists, warranting the need to override the veto.
Kobakhidze pledged to provide explanations for their decision and continued consultations if required. The focus now is on overriding the veto, with readiness for discussions and arguments.
"In all cases, we will need to override the veto, including for technical reasons. The changes in the regulations related to this procedure have already been implemented. Therefore, if the veto is not overridden, it will turn out that there is simply a procedure by which the CEC chairman and members will be elected for technical reasons. However, the main concern is that in this case, we see an interest in sabotage-an interest in artificially creating an institutional crisis in the CEC. At the time when the corresponding clause was included in the April 19 agreement, the purpose of this clause was to create an institutional crisis in the CEC. That is why we did not sign the first draft and only signed the revised version. We see exactly the same interest now, and that's why we need to override the veto. We will explain to everyone the reasons for our decision. Also, if there is a need for consultations somewhere, there is still time, and we will continue consultations. At this point, there is simply a veto to override. Then, if there are any arguments, requests for consultations, and so on, we are ready for consultations," Kobakhidze noted.
Kobakhidze further emphasized that the veto of the president does not align with the content of the April 19 agreement.
"Imagine if the president vetoed it, and this veto also does not correspond to the content of the April 19 agreement. Therefore, this agreement is merely a pretext. The April 19 agreement holds no value for us. Firstly, it has been invalidated and no longer carries any political significance. Secondly, let's not forget that the April 19 agreement was the outcome of sabotage and support for such actions. Thus, from both political and moral perspectives, the April 19 agreement holds no value for us. Furthermore, considering these developments, we have declared that we will never again engage in negotiations of this nature, and we will not enter into an agreement resembling the April 19 agreement. Instead, we will hold consultations with EU structures on all matters, without any objection," stated Kobakhidze.
