Lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia (GDDG) party are undecided about whether to support three Supreme Court judge nominations made by President Giorgi Margvelashvili, a senior lawmaker from GDDG party said.

MP Giorgi Volski, who chairs the largest faction in parliament, made up of MPs from GDDG party, has called on President Margvelashvili to engage in consultations over the Supreme Court nominees before the candidates are put on vote.

“The vote will be held, but actually I am not yet decided, including about how our faction will vote,” he said on May 4 and added that his faction “demands consultations” even though the President has no such legal obligation.
 
GDDG’s call for consultations on Supreme Court nominees, who were named few months ago, was rejected by the president’s office as an offer to engage in a political horse-trading.

“The President never engages in horse-trading over Supreme Court nominations,” Kakha Kozhoridze, president’s adviser for human rights and justice system, told journalists on May 4.

“It is principled position of the President not to hold political consultations and not to make deals behind the scenes over Supreme Court nominations,” he added.

President Margvelashvili named incumbent deputy defense minister, Anna Dolidze, as a candidate for the Supreme Court in February, and Tamar Laliashvili and Nona Todua for two other vacant seats in the Supreme Court in March. Parliamentary committee hearings into nominations were completed almost a month ago and the only procedure left is a vote at a parliamentary session. Lawmakers from the largest opposition group in the Parliament, UNM, have spoken out against nominations.

“I really do not understand a demand from representatives from the parliamentary majority about holding the consultations, because the candidates have already been named and committee hearings in the parliament have already been completed,” Kozhoridze said.