The Parliament discussed the Draft Election Code for the III reading and adopted it with 81 votes; the Draft was introduced by the Chair of the Education, Science and Youth Affairs Committee, Givi Mikanadze.

The document modifies the rules and quorum of the election of the Chair and the so-called professional members of the Central Election Commission, namely, the election shall require 3/5 of votes.

The Draft envisages 3 stages of the election process – at the first stage, the election will require 90 votes, and if the necessary number of votes cannot be achieved, then the officials will be elected with 76 votes.

The candidates will be eligible to appeal for the election with 76 votes twice, and if elected, his/her authority will be endorsed for 5 years. In the event, that 76 votes cannot be reached, and the candidates will fail at all the stages, the issue shall be delegated to the President.

The list of the applicants shall be submitted to the President within a week upon the voting along with the respective documents. The President shall be entitled to appoint certain candidates from the list for 5 years within the term of one week upon the receipt of the documents.

The changes introduced to the Election legislation and the Rules of Procedure remain valid, which envisages that the Speaker shall, instead of the President call the competition and nominate the candidates to the Parliament.

The Draft annuls the position of the CEC Deputy Chair nominated out of the CEC party members with the opposition quota. Respective changes are to be introduced to the Rules of Procedure.