Parliament Overrides President’s Veto on Amendments to CEC Staffing Rules
The Georgian Parliament today, March 19, overrode President Salome Zurabishvili’s veto on amendments to the electoral code. 78 MPs voted in favor of the override, 13 voted against and the original amendments were adopted without taking into account the President’s reasoned objections.
The amendments, passed by 81 votes in Parliament on February 20 and vetoed by the President on March 5, change the procedure for electing the Chair and non-partisan members (“professional members”) of the Central Election Commission (CEC) and abolish the post of deputy chair of the CEC, which was intended for an opposition representative.
During the plenary session, before the vote, the parliamentary majority leader Mamuka Mdinaradze said that the Parliament would not consider any recommendations against the country’s sovereignty. “We will not consider any conclusion of the Venice Commission or any other commission directed against Georgia, its democratic development and sovereignty,” he said.
According to the new law, the Speaker of Parliament, instead of the President, nominates and announces the competition for the election of the chairman and non-partisan members (“professional members”) of the CEC. Parliament must then vote 3/5 (90 votes) in the first hearing to elect a candidate for the chairmanship/membership of the CEC. If this fails, Parliament may try again by a simple majority (76 votes), with only two attempts allowed before the power to appoint the CEC chairperson/member passes to the President. Notably, the CEC Chairperson/member will serve a full 5-year term even if elected by a lower quorum.
When President Zurabishvili vetoed the amendments, she issued a reasoned objection, proposing that Parliament reinstate the old law and return to the President the power to form the Selection Commission and submit candidates for the Chair and “professional members” of the CEC.
Meanwhile, the opposition and civil society organizations pointed out that the amendments undermine the neutrality of the CEC. They also pointed out that these changes do not meet the nine conditions of the European Commission and the recommendations of the Venice Commission.
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