NGOs Petition to the President of Georgia about Nominating a Candidate for the Position of CEC Chairperson
Petition of non-governmental organizations specializing in elections to the President of Georgia, Mr. Mikheil Saakashvili
Dear Mr. President,
First and foremost, we would like to welcome your willingness to nominate a candidate presented by non-governmental organizations to fill the vacant position of the chairperson of the Central Elections Commission.
Pursuant to para.3, Article 10 of the Election Code of Georgia, non-governmental organizations would like to nominate Ms. Tamar Zhvania for the vacant position of the CEC chairperson.
Hereby, let us inform you that Ms. Tamar Zhvania has been working in elections fields as early as since 2000 in the civil sector. She has an extensive experience in working in responsible positions specializing in elections. In 2004-2007 she served as an executive director of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy. Over the last five years she was team leader for elections for UNDP Georgia, managing joint EU and UNDP projects. She has experience in working on elections-related issues abroad, including as an international program manager for the National Democratic Institute. Ms. Tamar Zhvania served as a representative of international monitoring missions in various countries on behalf of the OSCE/ODIHR, NDI and Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.
She is a fully accredited facilitator of the Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections (BRIDGE) program. She has participated in various international trainings, projects and researches.
We, the below signatories, were guided by the following criteria in selection of candidate: extensive experience of working in local and international organizations on elections-related issues, good knowledge of specificities of the work of election administration, track record of non-partisanship and certain personal qualities, including being a person of principle and objectivity. The below signatories believe that Ms. Tamar Zhvania fully meets the candidacy criteria. Further, we realize the responsibility that falls on the shoulders of monitoring organizations nominating candidacy for the position of CEC chairperson.
We remain hopeful that you will support the choice of the non-governmental organizations and nominate Ms. Tamar Zhvania as a candidate for the position of CEC chairperson.
We thank you for your attention and stand ready for further consultations.
Eka Gigauri
Transparency International – Georgia
Nino Lomjaria
International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy
Kakha Kozhoradze
Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association
Vakhushti Menabde
Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center
Ketevan Khutsishvili
Open Society – Georgia Foundation
Tamar Gabisonia
Article 42 of the Constitution
Arnold Stepaniani
Multinational Georgia
Irine Putkaradze
Coalition for Civil Development
Ketevan Chachava
Center for Democracy and Development
Giorgi Tughushi
Georgian Democratic Initiative
Tamila Peradze
Election Environment Development Center
Aleko Tskitishvili
Human Rights Center
Aleksandre Kalatozishvili
Multiethnic Resource-Center for Civil Development
Daniel Davitashvili
Georgian Professional Educational and Qualification Staff Trade Union of Workers and Students