Tamar Zhvania is currently the manager of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) project “Promoting Credible and Sustainable Electoral Institutions and Processes”.
Ms. Zhvania has an extensive experience working in highly responsible election-related positions. For the past five years, she has been in charge of the UNDP Georgia election team and supervised joint projects of the European Union and the UNDP. She has also worked on electoral issues abroad, including in the position of a manager of an international program at the National Democratic Institute (NDI). She has been a representative of international election observation missions in different countries under the auspices of the OSCE/ODIHR, NDI, and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. Ms. Zhvania started to engage in election-related activities from 2000 in the civic sector. In 2004-2007, she was the Executive Director of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED).
Tamar Zhvania is a fully accredited facilitator of the “Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections” (BRIDGE) program. She has taken part in various international trainings, projects, and studies.
Extensive experience of working on electoral issues in local and international organizations, good knowledge of the specifics of the election administration’s activities, non-partisan background, and personal traits, including adherence to principles and objectivity, were the main criteria the NGOs considered when selecting the candidate.
We, the signatory organizations, acknowledge the responsibility that may ensue from the nomination of the candidate for the position of the Chairperson of the CEC by election observation organizations. As we will actively continue monitoring the activities of the election administration and will not refrain even from severe criticism if needed, we believe that the proposed candidate has the ability to be open to criticism and to show readiness for cooperation with both political forces and the non-governmental sector in difficult situations.
We believe that Tamar Zhvania meets the criteria determined for the candidate of the Chairperson of the CEC. We hope that, like the President of Georgia, the ruling coalition will also express its readiness to support the candidate we have nominated during the selection process.
Proposing organizations:
International Society of Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED)
Transparency International – Georgia
Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA)
Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC)
Open Society Georgia Foundation
Article 42 of the Constitution
Coalition “For Civil Development”
Center of Development and Democracy (CDD)
Election Environment Development Center
