(Tbilisi, July 15, 2003, Civil Georgia) – The parliamentary inter-faction group failed to agree over composition of the Central Election Commission (CEC). The consultations held on July 15 in the Parliament yielded no results, as the distribution of seats in the CEC remains a controversy.
The opposition Industrialists and Revival parties still demand 2 and 4 seats respectively, while other opposition parties agree to share nine seats evenly.
US-suggested election guidelines delivered by former US Secretary of State James Baker during his visit to Georgia on July 5-6 imply composition of the CEC with five representatives of the pro-Presidential political parties, while opposition parties will be represented with nine members. The Chairman of the CEC will be appointed by the OSCE.
During the consultations member of the opposition Labor Party Pridon Injia expressed readiness to give their seat in the commission to any opposition party to promote discussion of the election code at a special session of the Parliament scheduled on July 16.
Due to the failure of the inter-faction group to reach an agreement over composition of the CEC, the election code will not be discussed at the special session of the Parliament on July 16.
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