Composition of the CEC and procedures for electing the CEC Chairperson

1. The CEC shall be composed of a Chairperson and 12 members. The CEC Chairperson simultaneously shall act as a member of the CEC. Termination of the powers of the CEC Chairperson concurrently shall result in the termination of his/her membership. The Parliament of Georgia shall elect 5 members of the CEC, on the recommendation of the President of Georgia, while the parties shall appoint 7 members as defined by this Law.

2. On the recommendation of the President of Georgia, either the CEC members appointed by parties (except for a member appointed by the party obtaining the best results in the previous parliamentary elections) or the Parliament of Georgia shall elect the CEC Chairperson as provided for by this article. The term of office of the CEC Chairperson shall be five years.

3. The President of Georgia shall, after consultations with local non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities, nominate 3 candidates for the CEC Chairperson to the CEC not later than 30 days before the term of office of the CEC Chairperson expires, and if the term of office of the CEC Chairperson terminates, not later than 15 days after the termination.

4. The candidate for CEC Chairperson shall be a legally capable citizen of Georgia, who has attained the age of 25, is non-partisan, has higher education, is fluent in the official language of Georgia, meets the requirements of Article 12(5) of this Law, this paragraph, and Article 17 of the Law of Georgia on Public Service, has work experience of not less than three years and holds a certificate of an Electoral Administration officer.

[4. A candidate for the CEC Chairperson may be a legally capable citizen of Georgia, who has attained the age of 25, is non-partisan, has higher education, is fluent in the official language of Georgia, meets the requirements of Article 12(5) of this Law, this paragraph, and Article 27(2) of the Law of Georgia on Public Service, has at least three years’ work experience and holds a certificate of an electoral administration officer. (Shall become effective from 1 January 2017)]

5. CEC members appointed by parties (except for a member appointed by the party with the best results in the previous parliamentary elections) shall decide to elect the CEC Chairperson within five days after the list of candidates is submitted. The senior member among those defined in this paragraph shall convene and preside over the session. Voting for the election of the CEC Chairperson shall be secret. Each voting member shall have one vote. All 3 candidates shall be put to vote simultaneously. Any candidate who receives 4 or more votes shall be deemed elected as the CEC Chairperson. The chairperson of the session/senior member of the CEC shall sign the minutes of the session and the CEC ordinance regarding the CEC Chairperson election.

6. Unless the CEC Chairperson is elected within the time frame defined by the fifth paragraph of this article, the Parliament of Georgia shall, within seven days, elect the CEC Chairperson out of the same 3 candidates nominated by the President of Georgia.

7. A CEC ordinance regarding the Chairperson election shall be sent to the Parliament of Georgia within seven days, and in the case defined by the sixth paragraph of this article, the decision of the Parliament of Georgia shall be submitted to the CEC within seven days.