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Kakha Bekauri Re-Elected as Chairman of Communications Commission

Kakha Bekauri, an incumbent chairman of the Communications Commission, was re-elected today for a third three-year term.

Netgazeti reported that Bekauri was the only candidate for the position and all members of the commission voted in favor of him in a secret ballot.

Kakha Bekauri, who is an expert in cybernetics and applied mathematics, was elected as a member of the commission in 2014 and has served as its chairman since 2017.

During Bekauri’s tenure, the commission has often been the target of critical media outlets and civil society organizations. They accused the regulator of making “unjustified” and “politically motivated” decisions.

During this period, the Coalition for Media Advocacy, uniting over ten local media watchdogs, denounced the Commission’s attempt to regulate the broadcasting of obscenity. It said that the Commission had no authority to interfere with the broadcaster’s content, which it said was the responsibility of the channel’s self-regulation policy.

It was during Bekauri’s tenure that the Parliament passed controversial amendments to the Laws on Broadcasting and on Electronic Communications, expanding the Commission’s ability to supervise media content and allowing the Commission to appoint a special manager at the companies providing electronic communications services, aiming to enforce the Commission’s decisions.

The Communications Commission is not subject to any state authority and is not financed from the state budget. The Commission is responsible for the protection of consumer rights, and it also regulates broadcasting and electronic communications.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)

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