Composition of the CEC and procedures for electing the CEC Chairperson

1. The CEC shall be composed of a Chairperson and 11 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, upon recommendation of the President of Georgia, while the parties shall appoint 6 members under the procedure established by this Law.

2. The CEC Chairperson shall be elected, upon recommendation of the President of Georgia, by two thirds of the total members of the CEC, by secret ballot, or by the Parliament of Georgia based on the procedure established by this article. The term of office of the CEC Chairperson shall be five years.

21. If the expiry of the term of office of the CEC Chairperson coincides with the period of holding an election, the President of Georgia shall nominate the candidates of the CEC Chairperson not later than the 7th day after the final results of the election are published. The term of office of the CEC Chairperson shall be terminated upon electing a new member.

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. A candidate for the CEC Chairperson may be a legally capable citizen of Georgia, who has attained the age of 25, is nonpartisan, 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’ working experience and holds a certificate of an electoral administration officer.

5. The decision to elect the CEC Chairperson shall be made by two thirds of the total members of the CEC within five days after the nomination of candidates. Voting for the election of the CEC Chairperson shall be secret. Each voting member shall have one vote. All three candidates shall be put to vote simultaneously. The minutes of the session and the CEC ordinance on the election of the CEC Chairperson shall be signed by the chairperson of the session.

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.

Organic Law of Georgia No 4392 of 27 October 2015 – website, 11.11.2015
Organic Law of Georgia No 168 of 21 December 2016 – website, 28.12.2016
Organic Law of Georgia No 1274 of 26 July 2017 – website, 29.7.2017