OSCE Proposed Candidates for CEC Chairman Post

(Tbilisi, August 31, 2003, Civil Georgia) – Today the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in consultation with the Council of Europe (CoE), submitted to President Shevardnadze three candidates for approval – Davit Usupashvili, Vakhtang Khmaladze and Nana Devdariani, for the Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairmanship post.

Nana Devdar!
iani is the Public Defender of Georgia and was a member of the Socialist Party before her appointment as Public Defender. The Socialist Party is in the Presidential-backed election alliance at the moment.

Vakhtang Khmaladze is a Member of Parliament. He was actively engaged in the development of the new election code. The Industrialist Party nominated him for the post of CEC Chairman. Many human rights advocacy NGOs have supported his candidacy for this post.

Davit Usupashvili is a senior legal and policy adviser of IRIS Georgia for implementing the USAID Rule of Law program. He has a master’s degree in international development policy from Duke University. He was a member of the Central Election Commission and chairman of its legal depa!
rtment from 1990-92, chief legal advisor to the president of !
Georgia from 1992-94 and chairman of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association from 1995-97.

President Shevardnadze has to appoint one of these candidates to the post of CEC Chairman before September 3.

However President also has the right to reject all the candidates and to refuse to appoint the CEC Chairman. In this case the 14-member CEC has to elect the chairman with two-thirds of the votes.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian)