According to the statement of the Central Election Commission (CEC), the explanations made by the President regarding the selection competition for the chairperson and members of the Central Election Commission indicate that she was guided by political motives when making the decision.­

The administration published a statement in this regard, in which it notes that the election administration is an independent body and it is unfortunate that the evaluation of the activities of this institution and its representatives is based not on objective criteria, but on political motives.

"The decision taken by the President of Georgia regarding the selection competition of the chairperson and members of the CEC became the cause of political insinuations. In particular, there are opinions from politically interested persons that the reason for the President's decision may be the political bias of the acting members of the CEC or the flawed conduct of the 2021 elections. This 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 explanations made by the President regarding the selection competition indicate that she was guided by political motives when making the decision. The President does not question the professionalism of the acting chairman of the CEC, she appreciates his activities, however, at the same time, she notes that the purpose of her decision, both in the case of the chairman and members of the CEC, was to select candidates by a broader political consensus. And this is quite difficult to achieve in the current political situation, when candidates are discredited by completely baseless accusations, especially if take into account that the candidates nominated by the President include representatives of the election administration. We wish success to our colleagues in the next stage of the competition. We think that nomination of their candidacies is another acknowledgment of the election administration and proof that there is no problem with the agency's credibility.

We would like to emphasize that the election administration is an independent body that works in compliance with democratic principles, with a high professional standard, transparently, and it is unfortunate that the evaluation of the activities of this institution and its representatives is based not on objective criteria, but on political motives.

We would also like to explain to the public that regardless of the decision made by the President regarding the competition, the election administration and its chairman, in accordance with the law, will continue to work as usual," reads the statement.

The incumbent chairman of the CEC, Giorgi Kalandarishvili, is not among the candidates submitted by the President to the Parliament.

source: IPN