The decision made by President of Georgia regarding the competition to select CEC’s Chair and members became a reason for political insinuations. Such a statement was released by the Central Election Commission of Georgia.

“Namely, politically charged persons voiced opinions that reason for President’s decision could be due to political bias of the current members of the CEC or the emphasis on the flawed conduct of the 2021 elections. The mentioned harms not only the professional dignity of specific persons participating in the competition, but also the reputation of the election administration as an independent and impartial arbiter.

The clarification made by the President regarding the selection competition for the chair and members of the CEC indicates that she was guided by political motives when making the decision.

The President does not question the professionalism of the acting chair of the CEC, she also appreciates his experience and work, however, at the same time, she notes that the purpose of her decision, both in the case of the chair and the members of the CEC, was to identify candidates selected by a wider political consensus for competitive positions. And this is quite difficult to achieve in the current political situation, when candidates are discredited by completely baseless accusations. Even more, if consider that among candidates presented by the President are again representatives of the election administration. We wish success to our colleagues in the next stage of the competition. We think that presenting their candidacies is another acknowledgment of the election administration and proof that there is no problem with the institution’s credibility.

We would like to underline that the election administration is an independent body which works in compliance with democratic principles, professionally, transparently and it is unfortunate that assessment of this institution and its representatives’ work is being made not by objective criteria but by political motivations.

Hereby, we would like to clarify to the public that regardless of the decision made by the President concerning the contest, the election administration and its chair, in accordance with the law, keeps working in the usual manner. Acting Chair as well as CEC’s 2 members will execute their duties until their replacements are elected in accordance with the legislation”, - reads the statement.