Ruling party leader seeks legal clarification from Venice Commission, EU Commission on recommended election rules for CEC staff

Irakli Kobakhidze, the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday requested legal justifications from the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and the European Commission regarding their recommendation that dictates the election process for the chair of the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC) and its members, requiring a two-thirds parliamentary majority.

In his remarks to the Georgian Public Broadcaster on Tuesday, Kobakhidze expressed criticism for what he deemed as “unnecessary and irrational” regulations within the election code in response to the latest opinion from the Venice Commission. “We believe that electing the chairman and members of the CEC with a standard majority of 76 votes is the most rational procedure. The current procedure, outlined in the April 19 agreement (mediated by the EU in 2021 to resolve a political crisis in Georgia, which the GD left in July of that year) and subsequently reflected in the election code, is both irrational and unprecedented,” he stated.

Kobakhidze emphasized, “we do not require such regulations in the election code. What we need is a sensible rule that ensures the proper functioning of the CEC without hindering the election of its chairman and members. Hence, we seek additional arguments from the Venice Commission and the European Commission to convince us that the changes we propose are unwarranted”, added Kobakhidze.

 

In 2021, the parliament approved amendments proposed by the Georgian Dream party, envisioning the election of the CEC chair and its members with a simple majority of 76 votes in the 150-member state legislature.