Composition of the CEAZ
1. The CEAZ is composed of 7 members and a secretary, who are appointed by the CEC by the following procedure:
a) two members are proposed by the main party of the parliamentary majority, two members are proposed by the main party of the parliamentary opposition, one member is proposed by the second party of the parliamentary majority and one member is proposed by the second party of the parliamentary opposition. If political balance is not reached in accordance with this letter, the respective group is compensated with the candidacies of the main party until a political balance between the majority and opposition has been reached;
b) in half of the CEAZs, the seventh member is proposed by the largest party of the parliamentary majority, while in the other half this member is proposed by the largest party of the parliamentary opposition, according to objective criteria based on:
i) random selection;
ii) equal distribution in the electoral territory;
c) the secretary of the CEAZ shall be a jurist and shall be proposed by the party that proposes the deputy chairman of the CEAZ.
ç) 30 percent of the members proposed respectively by the largest party of the majority and by the largest party of the opposition nationwide must be from each gender.
2. The chairman and deputy chairman of the CEAZ are appointed by the CEC upon the proposal of the CEAZ. In those CEAZs where the seventh member belongs to the main party of the parliamentary majority, one of the CEAZ members representing the main party of the parliamentary majority is elected chairman, while for the other half, one of the members of the CEAZ representing the main party of the parliamentary opposition is elected chairman. The deputy chairman is of the opposite political affiliation to that of the chairman.
3. CEAZ members do not work full-time. The CEC determines the working hours of the CEAZ during the election period and outside the election period. For the work performed, the members receive remuneration in an amount provided by a CEC decision.
4. The ranking of the parties for the purpose of allocating the seats on the CEAZ, in accordance with the specifications of this article, is done based on the number of seats won by the political party in the previous elections to the Assembly. In case of local elections, the ranking is determined in accordance with the number of votes won nationwide for local councils in the previous elections by the parliamentary parties. If two or more parties have the same number of seats and it is impossible to decide the party to be given an advantage, their ranking is determined based on the number of votes won nationwide. If two or more parties have the same number of votes, their ranking will be determined by lot drawn by the CEC.
5. If the political parties of the parliamentary majority and the parliamentary opposition that have the right to submit their candidacies for CEAZs do not exercise this right within the time limit provided in point 2 of article 28 of this Code, this right automatically will be transferred to the next parties in rank according to the number of seats in the Assembly, within the respective grouping. When this is not possible, the proposals will be made according to letter (a) of point 1 of this article.
6. In case of partial or early elections, the CEAZ is to be established not later than 10 days after the date the President issues a decree setting the election date.
7. When the seat of a member of the CEAZ becomes vacant, it is to be filled, in compliance with the rules provided in this article, within 15 days from the date the vacancy was created. During the election period, vacant seats are to be filled within 3 days.
8. When the seat of a member or secretary of the CEAZ becomes vacant on Election Day, the proposal to the CEC must be submitted no later than 3 hours from the moment the vacancy was created. If the subjects entitled to propose do not propose candidacies to the CEC, this right is transferred to the political parties of the same grouping that are ranked after them in the Assembly based on the number of seats won in the Assembly in the previous elections. If these parties also do not propose members, the CEC on its own initiative names the members of the CEAZ until the number required for decision making has been reached.
