Parliament Elects Six Members to Public Television Board
The Georgian Parliament approved on April 22 six members of the Public Television Board. They were chosen from 18 candidates proposed by groups of citizens and formally nominated by the President.
While the Board is now formally empowered three additional seats foreseen by law still remain vacant. The President must re-submit two candidates for each seat for a repeat parliamentary vote.
The elected members are:
Nino Ananiashvili – Georgian prima-ballerina, and head of the National Opera;
Alexander Rondeli, who chairs the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies;
Ghia Nodia, respected civil society activist and the head of the think-tank Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development;
Tamar Kintsurashvili of the activist group Liberty Institute;
Pridon Todua – prominent surgeon;
Gia Khubua, Director of the Institute of State and Law of the Academy of Science of Georgia.
According to the Law on Public Television, the Board has to announce an open competition for the Chairman of the Public Television, who will serve a six-year term. The Chairman would need six votes from the Board for approval; hence, if the parliament fails to approve the three remaining Board members, the current board would have to vote unanimously.