On 30 June, the chairperson of Georgia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) Tamar Zhvania announced her resignation from the post.

In her Facebook post, Zhvania wrote that she believes that the election regulations adopted under the agreement of the EU Council President Charles Michel have brought a new reality. With this new reality, she believes that the election of a new chairperson of the Central Election Commission under the new rule will be a contributing factor to broad political consent. “I would like to make additional remarks to the media! I believe that this statement says everything, and I do not plan to do more interviews or make comments. I am not going into politics or any state position. I am going to return to my international work, and my future plans are again and only related to the activities in international organisations,” she added. The opposition parties in Georgia accused Zhvania of fabricating the 2020 parliamentary elections along with the ruling Georgian Dream party. 

A day earlier, the Georgian parliament adopted amendments to the election code which were initially proposed back in March 2021 by the ruling Georgian Dream party and Citizens opposition and later revised in line with the 19 April EU-mediated agreement. The electoral legislation reform package provides changes to the structure and effectiveness of the CEC. The amendments entail the following changes: 1)  the membership in the CEC would increase from 11 to 17 members, all three levels of the CEC will be staffed with seven professional and nine party-appointed members; 2) obstruction of voters’ movement in the polling stations or within 100 meters would be forbidden; 3) regarding electronic technologies, 10% of random detection of electoral districts and the principles of their recalculation would be introduced; 4) clear criteria for a mandatory recount of electoral districts were defined in the amendments; 5) a CEC advisory group will be set up to monitor disputes and recounts. Two major opposition factions in parliament, the United National Movement (UNM) and Lelo – Partnership for Georgia have refused to vote for the amendments, saying that “they do not fully reflect the EU-mediated agreement.”

On 28 June, the ruling party and the opposition agreed on constitutional amendments which were put forward in an EU-mediated compromise. The following amendments were agreed: 1) the election threshold would be reduced from 4% to 2%; 2) the number of members required to form parliamentary factions were reduced from seven to four; and 3) the next Prosecutor General would be elected by a qualified majority or the support of 76 MPs. These amendments would be approved by October.

Parallel to the changes in the electoral process in Georgia, the judiciary in the country is also faced with major challenges. In an open letter, 310 Georgian judges condemned the processes surrounding the judiciary, saying that they were “politically motivated and unhealthy” and aimed at discrediting the branch. The statement came days after the High Council of Justice (HCOJ) nominated nine Supreme Court judicial candidates — against the warnings by the OSCE’s Venice Commission. The unnamed judges insisted that the judiciary had “never been so independent in Georgia as it is now.” They accused “certain political groups,” non-governmental organisations and the media, which they said were “influenced” to conduct a campaign to discredit the judiciary.

The US ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan was particularly vocal towards the judiciary issue in the country. “We were very glad to see the judges’ comments that they are ready to work with everyone to improve Georgia’s judicial system. This is because the rule of law and a strong impartial judiciary is prerequisite for joining NATO and the European Union. Now Georgia’s political leaders also agreed to ambitious judicial reform through a broad, inclusive multi-party process. In that respect, I think we’re all hoping that that debate, those consultations in a working group, can happen soon with all the stakeholders, civil society, professional organisations, the political parties. That is what Georgia’s political leaders agreed to do in the 19 April agreement. There were no side agreements, no secret agreements. It’s right there in the 19 April agreement,” she stated.

Degnan also emphasised that it lies in the parliament's power to pause the process of the election of judges. “It’s now in the hands of the parliament to uphold the agreement that the MPs signed, that the political leaders signed on 19 April, which includes a clear provision to pause the Supreme Court appointment process until there has been a broad, inclusive multi-party consultation regarding judicial reform. This should be done in a collaborative and consultative way similar to what was done with the electoral reform. That is what the parties agreed to do. And I think that’s all people are expecting to happen now that the ball is basically in the parliament’s court. Parliament has the authority to pause this process now,” Degnan added.

The US ambassador also spoke on the electoral reform in the country, saying that it was “an inclusive and consultative process.” “There were elements of it that were added beyond what was discussed in the April 19th agreement. That is fair enough. Some of the opposition didn’t agree with all of the new elements, but that is the political process happening in parliament, as it should. I think what is important is to have this kind of debate and consultation with people involved in the issue instead of unilateral actions that do not necessarily reflect all of the voices, all of the parties that the Georgian voters elected last October,” she said.