President Vetoes Amendments to Election Code, Signs Amendments to Anti-Corruption Law

On June 13, the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili vetoed the amendments on the rules of procedure of the Central Elections Commission (CEC) of Georgia, according to which if a decision of the 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. 

• 30/05/2024 – Parliament Adopts Amendments to Election Code

According to the President’s administration’s press release, the President believes that “with the change, the need for consensus among the parties to make decisions in the CEC will be eliminated, and the ruling party will be able to make decisions practically on a one-party basis.”

The press release also notes that the President signed the amendments on Anti-corruption law, however noting that “the presented changes are superficial and fragmented, they cannot meet the requirements of the European Commission, one of the 9 conditions for joining the European Union and starting negotiations, which provides for further promotion of the effectiveness of the Anti-corruption Bureau’s activities and strengthening of its institutional independence and impartiality.”

The press release notes that the Georgian Charter recently signed by the majority of political parties proposes the systemic reform to increase the independence of the Anti-Corruption Bureau envisaging the election of the head by the parliament and the granting of investigative powers to the Bureau.

The President’s Administration notes that currently, the Head of the Bureau is appointed by the Prime Minister, and the Bureau is given the authority to carry out several measures of special administrative proceedings in relation to election subjects, including questioning an individual, questioning before a magistrate judge, and requesting personal information, including special categories of personal data. The press release warns that “this requires further reasoning so that the law is not used selectively and the Bureau does not become a punitive tool against the parties in the hands of the Government.”

Also Read:

• 15/05/2024 – Amendments to Electoral Code Adopted: Parties Can Designate ‘Delegates,’ 40% Threshold in City Councils Abolished

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