ISFED: Amendments to Election Code Don't Align with Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR Recommendations
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
According to the evaluation by the International Society for Fair Elections And Democracy (ISFED), the amendments to the election code, approved by the Parliament in the third reading, do not align with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR.
"Candidates for the chairmanship/membership of the CEC will once again be selected by the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia and presented to the Parliament. The Parliament will then have the authority to elect the candidates for a full term of 5 years with a simple majority. These factors damage the independence of the CEC and lead to the strengthening of the influence of one party on the election administration. Ensuring the independence of the election administration is one of the 9 steps defined by the European Union for Georgia. Therefore, this decision of the parliamentary majority does not contribute to the country's progress toward joining the European Union," the statement reads.
ISFED mentioned in their statement that the problematic nature of staffing the CEC was addressed in the mid-term evaluation presented by the European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, in June 2023. This concern was later reiterated in the November 8 enlargement document of the European Commission.
According to ISFED, the amendments made to the Election Code in 2023 deviated from the principles outlined in Charles Michel's document.
"On December 18, 2023, the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR published their joint opinions on the above-mentioned draft laws, criticizing both the 2023 changes regarding the staffing of the professional part of the CEC, as well as the new draft law adopted in the first reading in September.
In the joint opinion of these organizations, it is noted that the changes implemented in 2023 gave the ruling party full control over the candidate nomination process, and they allowed the CEC chairman and professional members to be elected without the support of the opposition.
The document also emphasizes the importance of the support of 2/3 of the parliamentary majority during the election of the CEC chairman and professional members, as well as the anti-deadlock mechanism offered by the agreement reached with the mediation of Charles Michel," the statement reads.
