President Appoints CEC Chairperson

(Tbilisi, September 1, 2003, Civil Georgia) – President Shevardnadze appointed Nana Devdariani, Public Defender of Georgia to the post of Chairperson of the Central Election Commission today.

Nana Devdariani was among three candidates submitted to the President for approval by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe (CoE). MP Vakhtang Khmaladze and Davit Usupashvili were the other two candidates for the CEC chairmanship post.

“Nana Devdariani is a very honest and !
experienced person,” Eduard Shevardnadze said in his Monday radio broadcast on September 1. “That is why I preferred her,” the President added.

Before being appointed to the post of Public Defender Nana Devdariani was an MP and member of the Socialist Party, which is now a part of the Presidential-backed election alliance.

“Vakhtang Khmaladze is a professional. But as far as I know he is a member of a political party [Liberal Party], that is why I refrained from appointing him to this post,” Shevardnadze said.

“Usupashvili is also very professional. He was an executive secretary of the Anticorruption Working Group of the President of Georgia, but he is too young for this [CEC Chairmanship] post,” the President said.

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