Statements

The process of structural reorganization at the Central Election Commission (CEC) carried out in 2021 is not adequately substantiated and leaves an impression that the process is hasty, as evidenced by changes introduced to the CEC Regulations two times from March 5 to May 14 and by repeat restructuring of recently created departments within a short period.

On March 4, 2021, based on the Order of the CEC Chairperson, the process of reorganization of the CEC administration was initiated,^[1] with the declared aim of improving flexibility and effectiveness of the Central Election Commission. Although the reorganization did not aim to reduce staff size, it is still a noteworthy process as it envisaged the establishment of new structural units and reshuffling of human resources.

Under the amendments introduced for the purposes of reorganization in the CEC Regulations on March 5, 2021, the following 11 departments were determined:

• Voters List Department;
• Legal Department;
• Electoral Registration Department;
• Public Relations Department;
• Finance Department;
• Elections Information Technology Department;
• Coordination, Planning and Reporting Department;
• Human Resources Management Department;
• Internal Audit and Occupational Safety Department;
• Department of Election Process Management and Relations with Election Commissions;
• Office of the CEC Secretary (department).

The reform initiated in March 2021 did not involve legal, financial, public relations, internal audit and occupational safety departments of the CEC. However, under the amendments initiated in May, the Internal Audit and Occupational Safety Department were combined with the Legal Department in the form of the internal audit unit. The creation of the Office of the CEC Secretary that equates to a department, for the announced purposes of unifying the case management systems across various CEC structural units, was an important change. ^[2] 

Notably, under the amendments introduced in the Regulations on May 13, new positions were added to the list of CEC Staff to oversee different areas pertaining to election processes – data manager, voters list formation manager and electoral registrations manager, as well as a specialist for information processing. However, their specific functions are not yet clear.

ISFED has been following the reorganization process at the CEC administration since the very beginning. ISFED applied to the CEC, requesting information on the needs and the legal basis guiding the reorganization, as well as on the issue of staff changes. The CEC response was general and did not contain detailed information about the specific issues raised. In particular, according to the April 4 letter of the CEC, „... Within the structural changes carried out at the CEC, functions of the CEC administration were renewed. Activities of structural units were arranged in order to promote further professional development of the election administration, which entails distribution of functions, structural units and human resources of a public institution in a way that ensures effective and thorough fulfillment of its goals and strategic plan.“

Two months after the structural changes of March 2021, one more amendment was introduced in the CEC Regulations for reorganization purposes, decreasing the number of departments from 11 to eight. These are:

• Legal Department;
• Public Relations Department;
• Finance Department;
• Electoral Information Technology Department;
• Coordination, Planning and Reporting Department
• Human Resources Management and Occupational Safety Department;
• Election Process Management Department;
• Office of the CEC Secretary (department).

Notably, within the same period, changes were introduced in the staffing plan of CEC officials, members and staff, their salary scales and budget on two separate occasions.^[3]

According to the principles provided in the Law of Georgia on Public Service, reorganization is a process that is based on the interests of a particular institution, that aims to ensure systemic and efficient governance, and that results in a completely or partially renewed structure of a given public institution.^[4] Reorganization is an important process for improving operations and addressing challenges of a particular agency. However, against the background of the ongoing election reform, the goal of this hasty process is unclear.

Notably, on April 19, 2021, the government and opposition signed the EU-proposed political agreement. The election reform was one of the key points of the agreement, which among other issues, entails renewed composition of the election administration. The process was preceded by establishment of the election reform working group in early February as a result of a memorandum signed by the Georgian Dream and the Citizens parties. Within the ongoing reform, composition of the election administration is one of the primary issues, envisaging formation of a 17-member CEC, instead of the current 12 members. Among these members, eight will be selected on a professional basis - by the Parliament of Georgia and upon nomination of the President of Georgia, and nine members will be appointed by political parties.

As of today, the CEC is operating in incomplete composition. More specifically, only nine out of 12 members are represented, including six professional members and three members appointed by the Georgian Dream. The Commission does not include opposition political party appointees. At the same time, a bill has been initiated in the Parliament of Georgia aiming to change the composition of the CEC and introduce certain new regulations, including on topics like introduction and piloting of electronic technologies in elections, electoral dispute resolution, etc. Against this background, it is likely that as the election reform progresses, there will be a need to implement broader structural reform in the election administration. In addition, decisions made by the CEC in incomplete composition will not enjoy high degree of legitimacy and public trust, especially considering the absence of members appointed by the opposition.

ISFED believes that considering the above-mentioned factors and the issue of timing, structural changes in the CEC administration are unwarranted. Institutional changes should take place after the new election administration is formed. The CEC should therefore suspend the ongoing structural and staff changes until the election reform is completed, since these changes are incomprehensible against the background of the ongoing reform and since they lack legitimacy until the CEC is in full composition.

ISFED will continue to monitor the process of reorganization and staff changes in the election administration and will present a detailed analysis to the public.

 

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[1] Order #01-20 of the Central Election Commission of Georgia, March 4, 2021, on the reorganization of the Central Election Commission Administration.

[2] Decree 1/2021 of the Election Administration of Georgia – Central Election Commission of Georgia, March 5, 2021, Tbilisi.

[3] Decree #60/2021 of the Central Election Commission of Georgia, 14 March 2021, “On Determining the staffing plan of the CEC officials, members and staff, their salary scales and budget. Available at: https://cesko.ge/res/docs/2021051417310860.pdf.

[4] Law of Georgia on Public Service, Articles 102-103. Available at: https://matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/3031098?publication=35