Today, it became known to the public that Tamar Zhvania resigned from the position of the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia on the basis of her own request. We believe that this decision can significantly contribute to increasing confidence in the election administration and the electoral process during the 2021 local elections.

The dominance of the ruling party in the 2020 parliamentary elections, the imbalances in the summary protocols during the tabulation of voting results, and the lawed response practices, as well as the lack of proper handling of election disputes, have significantly reduced public trust in the electoral process. This has created the need of changing the rules of staffing the election administration in the framework of electoral reform, which means the selection of CEC members on the basis of high legitimacy.

Given this background, it is necessary to select such candidates for the vacant positions of the new chairperson and other professional members of CEC, which would increase confidence in the election administration, thus facilitating the effective implementation of electoral reform.

At the same time, we consider it important that the selection of highly qualified, experienced and impartial candidates for this position be based on the maximum consensus among the parliamentary political parties.

It is essential that the process of electing the CEC chairperson in particular be conducted in accordance with the rules established by law, as openly and transparently as possible. The legitimacy of the results of the forthcoming elections will depend on the public trust in the work done by the election commissions. This way, the country will avoid the political crisis like the one that developed after the 2020 parliamentary elections.

Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF)

Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA)

International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED)

Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia)