President’s Parliamentary Secretary Giorgi Mskhiladze said, “The Parliament, unfortunately, did not share the President’s motivated remarks regarding the election of the CEC Chairman and members.”

Remarking on Parliament’s recent overruling of Salome Zourabichvili’s veto on Election Code amendments, Mskhiladze said that “This could have been an obstacle in the implementation of the 12 recommendations that bring Georgia closer to the European Union.”

“We have not heard any arguments that a compromise decision on the CEC would be worse than a one-party decision,” he asserted.

According to the changes, The Speaker will announce the CEC competition, form a candidate selection commission, and present the nominees to Parliament. If the Parliament is unable to elect the CEC Chairman/members for the first time, the President will take part in the nomination process.

The parliamentary majority will elect the CEC chairman and members for a 5-year term.

The President earlier suggested an election with at least 90 votes, similar to the public defender’s case, adding “This is necessary to maintain and strengthen trust in the elections and CEC.”