ODIHR meets with 'UNM' and 'Reforms Group' in Parliament of Georgia
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
"United National Movement" faction chairman, Khatia Dekanoidze and deputy chairman of the faction, Levan Bezhashvili met with representatives of the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The information was released by the Parliament of Georgia press service.
According to their report, the members of the parliament talked with the guests about the draft amendments to the election code prepared by the opposition and emphasized the importance of implementing the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR and the European Union.
"One of the main 12-point recommendations of the European Union is the amendments to the Election Code. This is important not only for the country, but also for the return of citizens' confidence in elections. We have prepared such changes that we consider important to implement the recommendations. The changes to the electoral legislation, which were prepared by the opposition, are specifically in line with the recommendations that the OSCE/ODIHR presented. It is important that the amendments to the election code, which are identical to the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR, are taken into account", said the chairman of the faction, Khatia Dekanoidze.
ODIHR also met with the members of the Reforms Group in the Parliament.
According to the press service of the Parliament, the parties talked about the current situation in the country and the implementation of the recommendations provided by the 12-point plan established by the European Union.
According to Paata Manjgaladze, a member of the Reforms Group, the members of the political group at the meeting emphasized the importance of granting Georgia the status of a candidate for EU membership and expressed their readiness to support all the initiatives related to the implementation of the recommendations.
"Questions from the guests were related to the problems in the election process. After Charles Michel's document, Georgian Dream made such changes to the election code, which gives them the opportunity to have an acting chairman of the Central Election Commission for life. We introduced our package of changes to the representatives of the democratic institutions and human rights office of the OSCE, where this problem is corrected. We expressed our position that Georgia definitely needs to be granted candidate status," Paata Manjgaladze said.
