Parties Fail to Agree, Baker Plan Endangered

(Tbilisi, July 23, 2003, Civil Georgia) – At the consultations today the Parliamentary factions failed to agree over the distribution of seats in the Central Election Commission.

In early July US President Bush dispatched former Secretary of State in Georgia, which delivered to the Georgian political parties an election guideline, which considered composition of the CEC with the five representatives of the pro-governmental election alliance and nine representatives of the opposition parties.

The President and the seven opposition parties agreed to follow the guidelines, while the Industrialists and the Revival opposition pa!
rties demand at least two and four seats in the CEC respectively.

At the consultations today the Revival presented a new draft document, which considers composition of the CEC with the 17 members. According to the proposal those parties which clear the 7% barrier in the 1999 Parliamentary election will nominate three members of CEC, President will appoint one member, authorities of the Adjarian and Abkhazian Autonomous Republics – one representative each. The rest of the opposition parties will distribute remaining 5 seats.

This draft goes against the Baker plan. The Revival party, which lobbies the interests of the Adjarian Autonomous Republic’s leader Aslan Abashidze, threatens to boycott the elections in case their demand is ignored by the Parliament.

The Industrialists also presented the draft, which considers distribution of opposition’s nine seats among those parties, which had the best results in the 2002 local elections all over!
the country. In this case several major opposition parties, !
including Zurab Zhvania’s United Democrats will be deprived seats in the CEC.

The Parliament is to discuss the proposed drafts at the special session this evening. The voting is also scheduled for today. The pro-Presidential factions’ votes will be decisive, which draft will be approved.