Subsequently, various parliamentary working groups were established to work on the implementation of these recommendations, including a Working Group on electoral reform created under the Parliament’s Legal Issues Committee, with seats reserved for MPs from parliamentary factions and groups, as well as the CEC and the State Audit Office (SAO), and with two seats reserved for civil society organisations. It held its first meeting on 18 August 2022. According to the Chairperson of the Parliament, the group was created as part of the Georgian government’s efforts to address the European Commission’s 12 priorities for granting Georgia EU candidate status. In particular, Priorities #1 and 2 state:
“The Commission recommends that Georgia be granted candidate status, once the following priorities have been addressed: (. . .) address the issue of political polarisation, through ensuring cooperation across political parties in the spirit of the April 19 agreement; guarantee the full functioning of all state institutions, strengthening their independent and effective accountability as well as their democratic oversight functions; further improve the electoral framework, addressing all shortcomings identified by OSCE/ODIHR and the Council of Europe/Venice Commission in these processes”.