Today, at 8, the Legal Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia will discuss the draft law "On Amendments to the Organic Law of Georgia "Election Code of Georgia".

This amendments package was prepared within the working group created for the revision of the electoral legislation and serves to fulfill the recommendation determined by the European Commission, according to which Georgia should work more on the transparency of campaign and political financing, the resolution of electoral disputes and the prevention of the use of administrative resources. Also, bring the legislation into full compliance with the 2020 and 2021 recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR.[1]

GYLA welcomes a number of changes that increase and specify the criteria for recounting election results by district election commissions, change the timeframe for electoral disputes and reflect some of the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission. Nevertheless, the draft amendments does not fully improve the electoral environment in the country and fails to solve some significant issues, including the problem of using administrative resources, controlling the will of voters, and resolving electoral disputes fairly.

GYLA continues to advocate for the improvement of the Election Code of Georgia and will participate in relevant committee discussions. The organization calls on the Parliament and relevant committees to expand the list of issues that will be affected by this reform.

GYLA has sent the opinion related to the draft law to the Parliament of Georgia on Friday.

[1] Opinion on Georgia's application for membership of the European Union, European Commission, available at: https://bit.ly/3C4lnrU, updated on: 03.10.2022.