Some Parties Snub Election Code Working Group

A group working on emending the election code will start working from next week with the participation of only eight founding parties, as others refused to join.

On February 26, eight parties, mainly those having representation in the Parliament, signed a code of conduct, facilitated by U.S. National Democratic Institute (NDI), laying out principle to which they committed themselves to follow while working on reform of election code. The ruling National Movement party; Christian-Democrats; Democratic Party of Georgia; On Our Own; Georgian Troupe; National-Democratic Party; Labor Party and Industrialist Party have joined the group; only the latter has no representation in the parliament.

A tentative deadline of two weeks was set by the group to other potential participants to join it. MP Pavle Kublashvili of the ruling party said on March 12 – when the deadline expired – that others could still join it but under one condition, that the issues of election code that would be agreed by the group can not be revised upon the requested of a party that joins later.

Mamuka Katsitadze of the opposition Alliance for Georgia, uniting New Rights Party, Republican Party and Irakli Alasania’s political team, said that the group was set up by the authorities “to drag out process” and “we do not consider expedient to participate in the government’s stage shows.” The Alliance unveiled its proposals about the election code reform in early February.

Kakha Kukava of the opposition Conservative Party, which is in the group of parties planning launching protest rallies to demand President Saakashvili’s resignation from April 9 said: “Resignation first; then election code reform.”

MP Levan Vepkhvadze, a vice-speaker of the parliament from the Christian-Democratic Party, said that the refusal to join the group was not a surprise, because, as he said, those parties are on the street protest mode and it would be difficult for them to explain to their supporters why they should engage in dialogue with the authorities on election code reform.

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