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Article 19
 

Setting up of DECs


1. A DEC is a standing territorial body of the Electoral Administration of Georgia. The CEC shall set up DECs by a majority of the total number of CEC members. A DEC has an official seal with its name on it, a stamp, and a settlement and current bank accounts. The DEC chairperson and accountant are responsible for the DEC expenditure authorised by the CEC. A DEC may spend funds allocated for elections from any account opened with any commercial bank and/or its branch office.


2. The CEC is authorised to set up by ordinance one DEC within the boundaries of one or more than one self-governing units, and 10 DECs in the city of Tbilisi.


3. The DEC chairperson/member shall be elected for a term of five years, while the tenure of a DEC member elected by the CEC following the announcement of an election under the fifth paragraph of this article shall be determined for a period starting with their appointment and ending with the announcement of final results of the respective elections.


4. Five members of a DEC shall be elected for a five year-term by a majority vote of the total members of the CEC.


5. After announcing an election, 7 members of a DEC shall be appointed by the parties under Article 13 of this Law and 1 member shall be appointed by a majority vote of the total members of the CEC for a period ending with the announcement of final results of the respective elections.


6. The decision of a party on the appointment of a DEC member shall be submitted to the CEC within seven calendar days after calling elections. If the authorised parties fail to appoint DEC members within the time frame determined in this paragraph, the CEC may fill the number of DEC members to 13 on the day following the expiration of the time frame as determined by this Law.


7. A DEC shall elect head officers from among its members by a majority vote of the total number of DEC members.


8. A DEC shall not be placed in the same building where the state trustee – the Governor’s Administration, the local self-governing body – Sakrebulo or Gamgeoba, a political party, court, a police division, or a division of the State Security Service of Georgia are located.


8.1. A party, or election headquarters of a party/electoral bloc/initiative group may not be located in the building where a DEC is located.


9. A DEC may hire as many assisting and technical personnel (except for an accountant) as determined by CEC ordinance after announcing an election until the end of it.


10. A DEC may hire as many accountants as provided for by the ninth paragraph of this article until the end of the procedures defined in Article 53(5) of this Law.


[9. A DEC may, after announcing an election until the end of it, hire, under a labour contract, as many assisting and technical personnel (except for an accountant) as determined by ordinance of the CEC.


10. A DEC may hire, under a labour contract, as many accountants as defined under paragraph 9 of this article until the end of the procedures provided for by Article 53(5) of this Law. (Shall become effective from 1 January 2017)]