According to a briefing held by Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on August 21, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) was not invited to the first meeting of the electoral reforms working group. He also condemned President Salome Zourabichvili for failing to nominate Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the Central Election Commission's (CEC) interim chair, as a contender for the position.
Speaker Papuashvili noted that it is regrettable that she did not objectively describe why she did not choose Kalandarishvili. He said, "In my view, this is the support of the extreme agenda of the opposition." According to MP Papuashvili, the need for a qualified majority to elect the CEC Chairperson for a 5-year term encourages the radical agenda of the opposition. "The decision of the President discredits qualified, honest, and professional federal personnel," he added.
Additionally, Speaker Papuashvili talked about how the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy had crossed the line between a non-governmental organisation and a political party to justify the exclusion of the organisation from the working group. According to MP Papuashvili, ISFED is one of the groups that, during a protest the day after the European Council's June 24 decision not to award Georgia EU candidate status, requested Parliament to dismiss the government and set a one-week deadline for a technical interim administration to replace it.
"They were unable to carry out this ultimatum because the people rejected this radical demand," Speaker said, adding that when ISFED expressed a desire to participate in the working group, the ruling party questioned whether they still supported the ultimatum. "Unfortunately, they decided not to reject the demand. They were therefore not invited to join the working group. Obviously, if they give up this position and stop making this request, they can join the working groups fully," emphasised the Parliament Speaker.
