On February 23, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili declared that she had vetoed changes to the Organic Law on the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) because she believed they might reduce the bank's independence.

In the opinion of President Zourabichvili, such revisions are neither required, nor urgent, nor well-founded, particularly in light of the ongoing selection process for the NBG's president and her ongoing efforts to offer two candidates for the NBG Board. "Why do we need a second vice president when one of the present vice presidents is capable of carrying out the president's duties? The question arises if the administration is not pleased with the candidacy of any [current] vice president and needs to create an extra seat," President Zourabichvili continued.

According to President Zourabichvili, there are some concerns that the legislation permits the First Vice President to serve as the President of the National Bank for an extended amount of time if the Parliament does not approve the candidates selected by the President of Georgia. The President stated that such suspicions should be addressed; otherwise, the principle of the National Bank of Georgia's independence may be questioned, adding that she hoped the veto would not be overridden and that her reasonable views would be taken into account.

Notably, the proposal would have raised the number of executive board members and established the procedures for selecting an acting president of the National Bank if the office becomes vacant.

Earlier, on February 9, with 83 in favor and 8 against, the Parliament approved the modifications to the Organic Law on the National Bank of Georgia. In accordance with the changes, the First Vice President will join the bank's three current Vice Presidents and assume the President's duties in the latter's absence. Historically, one of the three Vice Presidents handled the President's responsibilities. Also, the board's executive members will rise from four to five. The National Bank of Georgia spoke against the revisions and made it clear that the President's absence had never impacted the bank's operations. It also mentioned a situation where a Vice President served as President for 16 months. The NBG further underlined that significant changes to the administration of the National Bank must be undertaken after previous consultation with representatives of this body within the parameters of the program established with the International Monetary Fund. A three-year initiative backed by the International Monetary Fund in the nation may be impeded if this is not the case.