Election Watchdogs Oppose New Rules for Composition of CEC
On November 17 five non-governmental organizations sent a letter to President Saakashvili, seeking a meeting with him to express their claims regarding amendments to the election code.
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), the Fair Elections Foundation, the New Generation – New Initiative, the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) and the Liberty Institute together sent a letter to the Parliamentary Chairperson, Nino Burjanadze, demanding the suspension of discussions over the amendments to the election code, which were endorsed by the Parliament on November 11.
The amendments, which, as the NGOs claim, were adopted hastily, envisage banning political party activists from being components of the Central Election Commission (CEC). According to the representatives of the third sector, the adopted version “is far from professional” and includes a great number of unacceptable provisions.
“Moreover, we oppose the fact that the amendments are made without taking into account public opinion and without prior discussion. We demand the development of complex amendments. We have already submitted new proposals to the President and the Parliament,” Tamar Zhvania of ISFED told Civil Georgia on November 18.
On November 18 a round table will be held on the initiative of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), where MPs, representatives of the Central Election Commission, non-governmental and international organizations will discuss the election legislation.
The Rightist Opposition, Republicans and members of the recently formed Conservative Party staged a walk-out at the parliamentary session on November 11 as a protest, since the parliamentary majority did not take into account the opposition’s demand to postpone the discussions of the draft law until after public discussions occur first.
The opposition claimed that the new rules of setting up the electoral commissions envisage the appointment of the entire election administration by the authorities.