OSCE, CoE Select Candidates for CEC Chairmanship

(Tbilisi, August 27, 2003, Civil Georgia) – The OSCE received a 25-member list of candidates for the post of Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), however they have refrained from publicizing it.

The representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Liviu Bota, and the representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE), Plamen Nikolov arrived in Tbilisi on August 26 to establish a shortlist of candidates for the post of CEC Chairman.

?I can only say that out of 25 applicants, 6 are women and 19 are men. The candidates will be elected in accordance with the!
criteria fixed by the international organizations. We will not take into account the recommendations of any political parties regarding any candidates. Instead, we will rely only on public opinion,? Liviu Bota said at the news briefing on August 27.

However, some of the candidates are already known. The President nominated Rusudan Beridze, the Deputy Secretary of National Security Council for human rights issues. The Industrialist party nominated MP Vakhtang Khmaladze, who was actively engaged in the development of the new Election Code. Chief of the Press Service of the Georgian Christian Orthodox Church, Giorgi Andriadze, has also been nominated for the post.

Giorgi Zesashvili, the chairman of the current CEC, is also among the candidates for the post.

Plamen Nikolov stressed that the process will be transparent, promising to nominate apparent candidates in the near future.

Representatives from the OSCE and the CoE will meet with representa!
tives from political parties and civil organizations on Augus!
t 28. Later on they will meet with President Shevardnadze. Liviu Bota expressed hope that the President will approve their nominee.

He said that these elections would significantly define Georgia?s future cooperation with international organizations.

The Chairman of the Central Election Commission is supposed to be nominated on August 30-31.

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