PACE Criticizes Imbalance in CEC

Matyas Eorsi, who leads the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) pre-election delegation to Georgia, says he is concerned over the political imbalance in the composition of the election administration at all levels.

Matyas Eorsi said the PACE hoped that the new leadership would have changed the composition of the Central Election Commission (CEC) and lower level election administrations in order secure political balance in the commissions.

8 seats are controlled by the authorities in the 15-member election commissions at all levels.

Georgian authorities also defied Council of Europe’s recommendations to reduce 7% threshold necessary to gain seats in the Parliament, to 4-5%.

This is the first major criticism of the international community towards Georgia’s new leadership, since it took over the power after November bloodless revolution.

A five-member, PACE delegation pays a pre-election visit to Georgia on February 25-28. The PACE delegation will assess preparations for the parliamentary elections, scheduled for March 28.