GYLA RESPONDS TO THE CEC CHAIRPERSON

Georgian Young Lawyers' Association reacts to the statement made by the chairperson of the Election Commission of Georgia, who called the study prepared by the GYLA on staffing of election commissions as “unserious” and “unprofessional”.[1]

Unfortunately Tamar Zhvania violated ``The Code of Conduct of Election Administration Officials.`` The Code obligates the chairperson to respect the law, be fair, impartial and independent, and when expressing his/her opinions be tactful, and substantiate any critisism expressed by him/her.

The Code also obliges the chairperson, while performing his/her official duties, to assist any interested parties to obtain any information or documents regarding the electoral process or the Election Administration, be accessible and avoid provoking any personal or other types of conflicts.

GYLA has been monitoring the election process for over the years and talked about discrepancies identified during the process and possible solutions thereof.[2]

We would like to note that while working on the study GYLA addressed a request to the CEC chairperson about a meeting regarding the issue of composition of the Election Commission. The CEC Chairperson refused to the meeting. The CEC preferred to make a formal statement in which it could not prove the untruthfulness of the information provided in our report.

GYLA urges the Election Administration and its chairperson to be respectful and provide adequate reasoning to their criticism.