On Tuesday 25 June, the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission published two new opinions on Georgia.
One concerns the amendments to the Election Code abolishing gender quotas, the other relates to the follow-up to an opinion of December 2023 (Venice Commission/OSCE) concerning the draft amendments to the Election Code and the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament relating to the composition of the Central Election Commission.
With regard to the abolition of gender quotas in the electoral code, the Council of Europe’s constitutional law experts admit that the previous rules were of a temporary nature, but stress their well-founded dimension.
They are calling for the introduction of new systems to make it easier to elect female candidates.
The Venice Commission is also “highly concerned” by the fact that these amendments were adopted under a fast-track procedure, without prior consultation, and less than a year before the next legislative elections scheduled for October 2024, which gives rise to “serious concerns regarding the stability of electoral law”.
The Venice Commission deplores the lack of follow-up to the 2023 opinion on the draft amendments to the Election Code and the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament.
What’s more, they also come just a few months before the next legislative elections.
“The – now adopted – amendments are clearly insufficient to ensure a consensus-based political process which is crucial for the independence and impartiality of the Central Election Commission (CEC) and for public trust in this institution”, states the Venice Commission.
Once again, the proximity of these changes to the legislative elections is highlighted.
The Venice Commission reiterates the recommendations of its initial opinion and encourages the authorities to “use this impetus to further enhance the democratic process”, which is essential in the context of Georgia’s application for membership of the European Union.
Links to reviews: https://aeur.eu/f/ct3 ; https://aeur.eu/f/ct4 (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)