Parliament has adopted amendments to the electoral legislation in the third reading

At the decision of "Georgian Dream," the electoral legislation has been changed once again.

Parliament approved amendments to the "Election Code" in the third reading, one of which introduces a new rule prohibiting the heads of observer organizations and election observers from participating in pre-election campaigning. Under the adopted changes, the list of individuals who are not allowed to engage in or participate in election campaigning will now include the heads of observer organizations and observers themselves.

These amendments also establish new criteria for the appointment of local observers, representatives of the press and mass media, as well as representatives of electoral subjects.

Another significant change is that the distribution of functions among precinct election commission members will no longer take place on election day. Under the revised "Election Code," the drawing of lots to assign functions to precinct election commission members must occur no later than seven days before the election.

The rules for distributing unallocated mandates in municipal council elections have also been modified. Under the current law, if the total number of mandates obtained by party lists in a given electoral district is less than the total number of mandates available, the unallocated mandates are distributed sequentially, first to those party lists that received at least 4% of the votes but failed to win a seat. If unallocated mandates remain, they are distributed to party lists that have already won at least one seat and have the largest remainder of votes.

With the new changes, if unallocated mandates remain, they will be given to the political parties that have achieved better results in descending order.

Additionally, under the amendments, the Chairperson and members of the Central Election Commission (CEC) will be allowed to carry official service weapons.

Moreover, CEC members will be entitled to a state compensation package. According to the adopted law, a CEC chairperson or member will receive compensation upon reaching the age of 65 or accumulating at least 25 years of total work experience, provided they have served continuously as a CEC member for at least five years.

The amount of this compensation will be set at one-third of the official salary of a CEC member.