The Legal Issues Committee approved the changes in the first reading to the Election Code concerning the rule of appointing election commission members by the political parties.

According to the draft, for the by-elections until 2024, the members of the district election commissions appointed by the authorized parties should not be required to present the certificate of the election administration officer.

According to one of the initiators of the bill, MP Iago Khvichia, in the recent parliamentary and local elections, all political parties had their representatives in both district and precinct election commissions. According to him, this rule allowed political forces to form district commissions.

"As we had our representatives in the commissions, we never told that the elections were rigged. Where we had representatives, we had information there and did not give ourselves the right to follow anyone. Therefore, we think that this rule should be maintained even in the by-elections”, - Iago Khvichia said.

According to the Chairman of the Committee, Anri Okhanashvili, the discussion on the legal technique of the draft will be discussed during the second reading.

The initiators of the changes are the members of the parliamentary political group Girchi: Alexander Rakviashvili, Herman Sabo, Vakhtang Megrelishvili, and Iago Khvichia.