A ‘Competition Commission’ is set up in order to process applications for CEC membership. The appointing process for the ‘Competition Commission’ is unclear and should be specified in Article 27.3. This article provides no guidance as it merely states that a ‘Competition Commission’ for the CEC chairperson and members shall be formed. While Article 27.3 provides that the ‘Competition Commission’ is founded upon an order of the President of Georgia, it is not clear how and according to which criteria the members are chosen and appointed. This important commission controls the gateway for CEC membership, as it is this commission that decides on the short list (at least two but no more than three names) for the President of Georgia to choose from for subsequent submission to Parliament. Arguably, the ‘Competition Commission’ has the greatest influence in the nomination process as it can limit the pool of nominees for the entire CEC to sixteen names, all of which could be from the same political force. Thus, the appointing process for the ‘Competition Commission’ is of sufficient importance to require that it be stated in the Election Code.[40] It is recommended that the Election Code be amended to state the process for appointing the ‘Competition Commission’ and that this process be politically inclusive and transparent.
