35 candidates for 9 vacant positions at GPB board
By Tatia Megeneishvili
Friday, December 20
The commission which was working on selecting members of the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) Board of Trustees left 35 candidates out of the 68 applicants, while at the end of the selection only 9 of the best candidates will be nominated for the current vacant positions.
In order to ensure the transparency of their concepts, open meetings are being held with each of the 35 candidates on December 18, 19 and 20. The meetings held at the National Library have been aired.
At the next stage, the commission will present the final outcome to the present Parliament on December 22.
However, on December 18, members of the acting board of trustees released a statement demanding the postponement of the selection until their file can be heard in the constitutional court.
The Chairman of the GPB board of trustees, Emzar Goguadze, filed a complaint in court on December 4 asking to cancel the legislative changes referring the GPB board of trustees. Asking not to select the new board membership until January 2014, Goguadze said the selection has been underway in a rushed manner.
Calling it an attempt of suppressing the media, Goguadze claimed this process was against the law.
“We appeal to international organizations and the civil sector to respect the Georgian constitution and independence of media and avoid legitimatizing authoritarianism with the participation in this process,” the board of trustees stated.
According to the changes carried out in the law on broadcasting, the new board of trustees of the GPB will have only 9 members instead of 15.
After the interviews, the selection commission will decide which candidates will be sent to the Public Defender, Adjara Supreme Council, Parliamentary Majority Leader and Parliamentary Minority Leader for nomination to Parliament for approval. 3-3 Trustees are nominated to Parliament by Parliamentary majority and minority, 2 candidates by Public Defender and 1 candidate by Adjara Autonomous Republic Supreme Council. Finally Parliament will approve the 9 GPB Trustees.