Zourabishvili appeals CEC decision in court

Today the lawyers of the Georgian NGO "Association of Young Lawyers of Georgia" launched an appeal on behalf of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Salome Zourabishvili in Tbilisi City Court in order to reverse the decision of the Central Electoral Commission to refuse her registration in the presidential election.

"The NGO believes that the decision of the acting chairman of the CEC was unfounded, since it was not based on clause "b" of paragraph 1 of Article 3 of the Electoral Code, which states that passive voting rights (which means the right of a citizen of Georgia to be elected to the executive authority and take a post in the civil service) are denied to those persons who have this right limited by law and the Constitution of Georgia," News-Georgia quotes the statement.

The lawyers say the reason given by the CEC as grounds for refusal of the registration is unfounded, given the fact that, in their view, paragraph 1.1 of Article 29 of the Constitution of Georgia does not regulate legal relations connected with the registration of a citizen of Georgia as a candidate for the presidency.

The above provision of the Constitution will become relevant only in the case when a person with dual citizenship wins the election, the lawyers say.