Parliament Adopts Amendments to Election Code
On May 30, the Parliament of Georgia adopted amendments to the Election code with 80 votes in favor, which among other issues, change the Central Election Commission rules of operation and abolish the CEC advisory group, which consists of a representative of the Public Defender as well as the national and international experts selected by observer organizations.
Prior to the amendments, the Central Election Commission of Georgia was required to approve the composition of the CEC Advisory Group, which was tasked with making recommendations to the CEC regarding the dispute review process, within 10 days of the call for elections.
The CEC advisory group would be set up for the electoral period, with not less that 9 and not more than 15 members. In the explanatory note to the amendments, the ruling Georgian Dream party said that the group wasn’t in fact functional, which “was mainly caused by the unwillingness of the monitoring organizations to participate in the activities of this group.”
As for the amendments to the Election Commission’s rules of procedure, the amendments provide that if a decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) requiring the support of at least two-thirds of its full membership cannot be passed during a CEC meeting, it will be subject to a revote at the same meeting and will be considered passed if it receives a majority of the CEC’s full membership. The ruling party justifies the change as a necessary anti-deadlock mechanism.
Also Read:
- 15/05/2024 – Amendments to Electoral Code Adopted: Parties Can Designate ‘Delegates,’ 40% Threshold in City Councils Abolished
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